


Twisted Passing

by ShadTastic



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Demon Vlad Plasmius, Emotional Manipulation, Evil Danny, F/M, Hurt Danny, Hurt No Comfort, Insanity, Misunderstandings, Phantom is a dick, Sam Is So Done, Sam is Not Amused, Subtle ember and skulker, Witch Danny, danny is ACTUALLY not bad, tucker is kinda dumb, vlad is evil
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-03-06 18:33:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 33,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13417155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadTastic/pseuds/ShadTastic
Summary: "You know, Amity was kinda like the Salem witch trials." Sam sighed at Tucker's comment. "It really wasn't. They are completely different, Tuck." The other quickly laughed adjusting his glasses. "It WAS though! Come on, WITCHES! Who believes that they even existed?". AU Witch!Phantom. A powerful witch from the 1600's watched over a town centuries ago. Now, he's back and he's hungryI wrote this two years ago and am posting it on this site, whatevs.





	1. One eventful night

I want this to have style. So there's going to be a lot if references to other stories of Halloween, famous movies, ect. Anyway, I'm not going to give away much about it, and I'm not sure how long this will go. But it all takes place in a single day. (The main story, that is) Oh, and this might be a LITTLE graphic down a bit. There's a bit of death. All Hallows Eve wouldn't be complete without it, eh?

I would just also like to say that this isn't going to be a very per the norm fan fiction. I like doing things many haven't done before. SO that being said....

Disclaimer: I do not Own Danny Phantom. I only own the story plot for this.

Commence.

wWwWwWw

 

In the small town of Amity Park, there lives an old wise tale. One that grandparents have told their grandchildren for centuries upon centuries. The children would be tucked into their beds tightly as their grandparents sat at their side, book in hand. They spoke of a time when superstitions ruled the minds of humans, a time when darkness covered the land and only the churches and graveyards were sanctuaries. They told the children of a time when demons roamed the earth. Demons, that walked and breathed as they did. Beasts dwelling within a human shell. One might think this is a bit disturbing topic for a child's bedtime story, but rest assured, Amity Park is not like other towns. For one night, when the moon was high and full...on this, exact day...

...Phantom walked the earth once more. 

wWW Amity Park- 1645 WWw

The moon was full that fateful night, and the townspeople cleaned, cooked, and slept. It was a prosperous town, thick with vegetation and a wide deep forest surrounding it from intruders, they made decent trade, and they had endless material to make their homes and buildings. All was happy and well. The days passed by quickly, the nights were uneventful, and the townsfolk always felt safe.

So safe, none of the adults minded if the children went out after dark to play in the fields together. This carried on for a while. They would eat dinner, do their chores, then with haste, make their way out to the fields just outside the lush forest, where they would play games, sing songs, all while under the light of the moon overhead.

Tonight was different. The townsfolk felt a sudden chill in the air. They had felt it for a while now, over the years it had steadily been growing, it was like someone applying pressure to your chest. Almost suffocating them. The full moon overhead seemed to watch each move they made, and the eery fog that had crept up and shrouded the town like a blanket worried them

The children were not allowed out this night. They seemed upset but eventually they went to bed to wake up the next day and play then. All of the children did as their family asked, as they snuggled up into their wool bedsheets, and wore their sleep wear, all the while looking up at the moon that shown through their window.

It was just after midnight, all the townsfolk were asleep and the children as well. However, outside the fog seeped into the house and went to the children sleeping, and they breathed it in. 

"Come, little children.." The fog whispered musically in their ears, waking them from their slumber. It instantly flew into the child's open eyes, making them gain a dazed look, and immediately the children slipped out of theirs beds and out of their respected homes, to follow the soothing voice speaking with them all.

"I'll take thee away..." Each word hit their eardrums making then want to get to the source as soon as possible. They wandered the streets together, all barefoot and cold, but they paid it no mind, as they walked through the dew dropped grass of the vast fields until they reached the entrance of the forest.

"Into a land of enchantment~" The voice continued to beckon, the gleem of the moonlight reflecting off of each child's hypnotized eyes as they all walked into the dark forest, paying no heed to what they have been told of it. They eagerly trodded through the mud and dead leaves and branches, their small feet gaining a few scrapes and cuts here and there, but once again, they paid things such as that no mind. All that mattered was the voice promising fun that awaited them deep into the forest.

"Come, little children. It's time to play..." 

They all eventually arrived at a dark, dark section of the forest and simultaneously they all stopped in their tracks. The music had stopped, and in front of them, all they can see is two bright, glowing, green eyes. 

"Here in my garden...of magic~" The figure drawed out the last sentence as a fellow wind swept away the fog allowing visual to the person in front of them.

It was an old man, older than their grandfathers, who was standing before them, his arms spread out wide and a smirk evident on his wrinkled lips. Moonlight finally seemed to hit this place, because now they could see the man's long white hair that trailed down his bent back. With a lowered hand he beckoned a child over and gave a fanged grin. His long black nails gently stroked the young child's face until she fell to her knees in front of him.

A small girl, no older than five was the first to go. Such innocence always did so much for his complexion. He needed to be young again. Start over in a new town somewhere, people here were beginning to get suspicious here in this small one. Though, he had been restraining himself so he could stay here longer, it seemed he didn't hold himself back well enough. He had decided that this would be his last feed before he became a scorched mark in the dirt by the townsfolk, like many of the others before him. No, he would move on from Amity after this night. After he wiped the town of it's youth and was long gone. It would be easy and quick. 

One after another, the Phantom sucked the life out of the small humans until they became nothing more than shriveled husks of their former selves at his feet, which he quickly tossed to the ground carelessly. He needed to be quick, after all. Besides, he felt better and younger than ever. His appearance had drastically changed from that of a raggity, old man to that of a young adolescent teen. His long, black cloak hung loosely on his shoulders now and flowed in the wind nicely.

Phantom gave a small peek using his reflection from a small pond beside his feet, and touched his face with delight. Smooth, so smooth and soft. He was young again! He had forgotten how handsome he really was, what with all of the wrinkles that had adorned his face during his stay here in this town. With a dashing grin, he rubbed his defined jawline, looking at the dead corpses of the many children he had fed from, trying to decide the best method for disposing of them. He supposed he COULD just leave them here for the towns people to find later, but where was the fun in that? Normally, he would disguise the corpses as dead rats or possums, but there were far too many corpses this time to make it believable.

He would just have to dispose of them the old fashioned way. Burial. Just as he lifted the first corpse into his arms and looked at the shriveled face of what had once been so youthful, a series of angry shouts caught his attention.

"Monster! What have you done to the children?! The poor children!!" Phantom turned to look at the man who had made his precense known with a bored expression. With a sigh, he dropped the dead child in his hands and took in the man's appearance. He was a brute, in many ways, Phantom concluded. He had a wide build, tan skin. He hair was as black as Phantom's own heart and his eye's were a dark blue filled with sadness as he took weary glances at the corpses at the witch's feet. Yes, Phantom thought as he smirked at the man, his feigned bored expression breaking. A weakness at his heart. Phantom could use that.

"Is your child here among the corpses tonight?" Phantom's voice was soft, like velvet and he gave a small gesture to the pile, his expression one of mock sympathy. With a cruel smirk, Phantom flicked his hand out and a body of a young girl with long red hair and a turquoise dress came out from under the pile. She was floated over into his arms and he held her close as if she was his own and he looked over at the hunter with darkened eyes. Eyes filled with such evil that masked away a certain level of pain and betrayal.

"Why...Why it's young Jazmine!" He mocked, twirling the dead girl's hair with a laugh. "My my, how she hast grown. Alas, I fear she won't grow no longer! GWAH HA HA HA!" Phantom couldn't help the near insane, cackle that slipped through his lips. With a small raise of an eyebrow, he looked over to the large man who had since fallen to his knees at the sight of his drained daughter. 

"How...could you do such a thing...the children..Jazmine...." The man's voice quivered as he held his head in his hands, shaking. He felt cold hands touch his shoulders and lift his head up to look at them. Then he saw the face of the killer more clearly. A young teen, no older than sixteen, with tan skin, snow white hair, and startling green eyes. "W...What kind of monsterare you? You are but a child!" 

The man was confused when the boy gave out a dark chuckle, his head falling back onto his shoulders, giving the man a clear view of his fanged teeth. "You should know by now, Jackson Fenton, that looks can be decieving. " With a large grin the boy's eyes glowed brighter and brighter and he slowly opened his mouth. Jack felt a restricted feeling rise up within his chest as the boy began sucking air in through his mouth.

Instinctively, Jackson thrusted his arm out and stabbed the boy in the stomach with his dagger, watching the teen's expression shift from one of surprise to one of pain. As he dropped to his knees beside him and fell onto the ground clutching his bleeding stomach, Jackson slowly backed up when the boy growled loudly, a black tar like substance seeping out of him. With a quick thought, Jackson turn and ran back into the town and alerted everyone's attention to the missing children and who was responsible.

But when Jackson and the remaining townsfolk arrived at the site, all they were left with was the witch sitting on an old, dead stump staring at them darkly. The children were gone, but Jackson could see the dark stain on the dirt from where he had stabbed him. So he wasn't delusional. With a furrowed brow he stepped in front of the other townsfolk and spoke in a painfully hard tone to the boy in front of him. 

"Witch, you have taken much from us....Our children, our hopes and our faith. But tonight.. "He paused when he saw the hole in the boy's cloak from where he was stabbed, but the wound itself was gone. Like it wasn't even there to begin with. With a frown he continued, more determined to rid the world of another monster that takes away the innocents. 

"Tonight will be your last. You shall be executed by hanging." He finished watching the teen's expression as it morphed into a sinister grin.

"Do you know who you are dealing with? It's a pity. I had wished to leave quietly after this night. " Phantom slowly stood from his stump and made his way over to the hunter, enjoying the other townspeople who backed away. He ran a hand to Jackson's chin and pulled him roughly down to meet his eyes. "Since you are so confident...Kill me..if you can. "He whispered in his ear, Phantom's eyes flashed a brighter green for just a moment with the low tone of his voice.

Without any struggle whatsoever, Phantom was taken back into town, and brought up to the noose. His arms had been tied up behind his back and his head was covered with an old potato sack. They pushed him up the stairs and turned him to face the crowd, though he couldn't see them until they slipped the sack off of his head as they addressed him. 

"What is the name you go by, witch?" Jackson stated when the sack was taken off of his head. He stared into the boy's eyes and watched him take in his surroundings for a moment before looking at the man who had addressed him. 

"I have gone by many names. Which pegs me to ask the question ...What is in a name? It certainly bares no meaning to me." Phantom drawled out, his mouth slowly uplifting into a cocky smirk making Jackson scowl at him. 

" Silence your lies that spew from your lips, witch! Your trickery will work on us no longer! Now, what is your name?!" The hunter bellowed, fists clenching at his sides in anger. There was something about that smirk...

The witch's smirk only grew and he let out an insane cackle. "My my, hunter! Someone has lost their temper, no?" The white haired teen managed to stop laughing in order for the executer to put the noose over his slender neck. "I go by 'Phantom' now a days. Courtesy of the other towns I've drained from. They had given me the name."

He felt pride swell up in his chest when he saw the citizens in the crowd shudder from his twisted word choice. He squinted his eyes at the hunter before him and couldn't help but think of how the man reminded him of his late father in his own life. When he was mortal, that is. Still, Phantom couldn't let old ties hold him back from doing what he was going to do next. His eyes glowed in the darkness, the full moon overhead fueling his power. 

After a moment of silence from Phantom's response, the witch tilts his head acutely and gave an almost kind smile to Jackson. "Aren'tyou going to ask for my last words?" He teased.

Jackson gritted his teeth together at the smile."Don't you dare mock me!... " He gave a hard sigh and ran a hand through his ebony locks, reluctantly, he continued. "What are you final words...Phantom?" He grounded out.

Phantom grinned triumphantly and looked up at the moon. It's high enough, past midnight. He should be able to pull it off. Or so he hoped.. "Ah... Nothing too special... " Phantom's voice was dark and it seemed like more than one person was speaking with him. "When the moon is full and high high in the sky, years from now thy descendent, Jackson Fenton, will set me free once again. On this night, I shall be free to walk amongst the living once more. It is then that I will drain ALL the people who dwell in this forsaken town as I have done to your children tonight. " Phantom's eyes flashed and his face spilt into a fanged grin, filled with insanity.

"2...0...1...6...2...0...1...6..." The teen repeated over and over, until Jackson gave the signal to drop the board and watched in sick fascination when Phantom's neck broke and he hung there, eyes still filled with madness. 

"2...0...1..6-" And then the Phantom was no more.

 

wWW Amity Park-PresentWWw

" ...1...6. Then Phantom was dead. But the people of Amity Park felt dread rather than content. For they feared they had doomed a later generation to the hands of an unimaginable evil. They could only hope that the witch had been bluffing to make them worry for the rest of their lives, weary of the witch's return. But, he never did. And as they told their later children then grandchildren of Phantom's tale, and warned them of the curse that befelled their small town, they could only pray that he would remain dead.

Eventually, the story became a wise tale that people told their children in order to get their children to go to sleep, and then it became a town holiday. A myth no one truly believed in but celebrated on the same night every year with their children. They dressed in costumes, got treats, and had concerts locally they enjoyed. No one suspected that the feared Phantom had actually existed, in fact many recite the revival ritual as a joke with their friends. Even the festivals recited it. And now...tomorrow night...Phantom is going to come back!"

A girl, with short black hair told her darker friend sitting beside her as she closed her book, ignoring the strange looks she got from those around her in favor of her friend's reaction.

"Soo...Phantoms really real?! Like, super real?" The teen in the red hat said, stars lighting up his eyes. "That's so cool! Do you think when he comes back he'll be all old and haggily, or do you think he's gunna still be all young and junk?" 

He was answered with a short slap in the back of the head with his friend's book. "Tucker, were you not listening? He absorbed enough children that night to last for CENTURIES. Plus he hasn't been alive since then, so he should look the same. I'm really surprised living here for years now you've heard the full story. You've been to the festivals right? I think they metimes tell it..." 

"Ah! Ow... Sorry, Sam! It's just...I thought after all this time he would've aged some you know? I was just wondering. Besides... We'll find out tomorrow night won't we?" The African American pouted, rubbing his head and adjusting his glasses back onto his face. "-And no, up until now I'd never heard it all."

"It's better we hope he DOESN'T show up for real. You know? Because if he does...we're all dead, remember?" The goth tilted her head with a smirk. "Unless... You WANT to die?" She teased him.

"N-No, no. I like living, thank you! Phantom can stay out in the graveyard for a few more centuries. At least until we're all good and dead. " the techno geek stated with a nod.

"Let's hope so, Tuck. Because if he does show up.. We're not gunna be able to stop him."


	2. Death has Breathed New Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vlad has an awkward conversation with his best friend.

CH:2 Death has breathed new life.

 

Hello, hello, hello! It's time for chapter two! Unfortunately, I don't have any software to use for editing. What my stories turn out to be is done by me and me alone. 

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

wWwWwWw

 

Jack Fenton was a brute of a man. Equipped with his orange jumpsuit (always), he had a large build, tan skin, and hair black as night. His dark blue eyes held a sadness, many wouldn't think the man could carry, what with his optimistic attitude.His wife was a beautiful woman, with her short brown hair, amethyst eyes, and her bright, bright smile. But  
They both still had their reasons for being this way.

His wife, Maddeline, was infertile. 

They had been trying for years to conceive a child, but it all was is vain. They had went to the doctor just last week, to find out the reason for their misfortune. The doctor's answer was confusing, to say the least. He was puzzled himself, he told the couple that Maddie's tubes looked as if they had already been tied. Of course, they both knew this was ridiculous. Maddie had never done an operation for it. They had both been wanting children for many, many years now, so it's not like she did it behind Jack's back or anything. But it seemed fate had other plans for the Hunters. 

The fact that Jack had began resorting to the very thing him and his wife had been trying to deracinate for years now, made Jack disheartened. Of course, Maddeline didn't know her husband was resorting to witchcraft to try and allow her to conceive a child. Still, Jack would spend hours in their basement, while his wife would be upstairs either cleaning or sleeping away the sadness. It was enough to make him wish with all his heart that there was another way to go about this. Adoption was one, but they both agreed long ago they wanted to conceive a child. But, they both did say, halfheartedly, that if the odds were against them, then they would eventually adopt a child. Perhaps a boy? They didn't know. In reality, they didn't want to think of the option just yet. But they were extremely close to it. And of course, Maddie has always said she wanted their child to look like Jack did. The bright blue eyes and the dark hair were her favorite features on him. Not that she didn't like the others, those were just a few of the things.

Jack sighed when he heard their bedroom door shut from the basement. Maddie was taking another nap midday. Jack could only hope she was doing alright. But, it's all fine. He would continually think to himself, refusing to believe the gift of a child couldn't be given to them. He would find a way for their dreams to come true, even if he had to preform every spell in this blasted spell book he was holding.

"That one looks promising.. Though I can't be sure. I don't have any spider guts and roasted pine nuts just laying around my basement. I guess I could GET some, but I would look crazy if I asked for SPIDER guts! Oh! Why does everything in this blasted book have to be exotic, disgusting things? Why can't it have normal ingredients?? Like SALT?"

"Actually, Jack, salt disrupts the energy patterns needed in order to make magic preform the various tasks. It acts similar to a shield. As long as it is used as a circle." Jack turned to see his old, college friend Vlad Masters standing behind him, his arms folded behind his back and his black hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. 

Seeing Vlad uplifted Jack's spirits a bit. Vlad has always been there for him and Maddie when they needed him. Even going as far as to offer to pay and fill out the adoption papers for them should they ever decide they wanted him to. Yes, he was a great guy to have around. 

"Vladdie! So nice to see you! How have you been?" Jack grinned when he saw his best friend flinch at the nickname he had given him when they first met in highschool. Good times. 

"Things have been going well. Though.. I do have to say I AM curious as to why a man who comes from a family line of witch hunters is looking around in a spell book. Care to explain?" Vlad looked at the book in his friend's hands and raised a brow at the emerald jewel used to seal it up again. It looked sturdy enough, but it had various dents and cracks in it. Jack must have broken it in order to open the book in the first place. A shame really. The book was well put together for something that was made centuries ago. 

The hunter looked down at the book in his hands. He had completely forgotten about it in his excitement for seeing his old friend again. He was a child at heart, after all. Still, Jack knew he had been caught and grinned a bit sheepishly at Vlad, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well... It's nothing really. I was just thinking, since the witch who used this book is long dead..they wouldn't mind if I used it to see if I can make Maddie.. You know,..FERTILE again.." Jack began to mutter quietly to himself, peering down at the book in his hands, which suddenly felt heavier than normal. 

The black haired male beside him looked at him with surprise. Not believing a witch HUNTER would resort to using their enemies tactics to gain something that could easily be taken away. Witchcraft was of the devil anyway. Eventually, Vlad's surprise turned to slight distrust as he narrowed his eye's at Jack. "You shouldn't meddle with things you don't understand, Jack. I understand you are grieving, but using that book to fulfill your wishes.... Well it can take more away from you than what it can give. Besides, infertility was something Madeline was BORN with, if you take that away, you're taking away who she truly is. Are you sure you want that for your 'family'?" He sighed, noticing his friend shake his head at him.

Jack's voice was low, as though he was angry. In which case, he probably was. But not at Vlad. No, never at Vlad, after all, he had done nothing wrong. He was only being a good friend. Still, Jack wanted this more than anything in this world, and he knew Maddie felt the same way. He could only hope she would forgive him for granting their wish in such a way. " I know what I'm doing. The risks are not hidden away from me. I know perfectly well the consequences, but... Vlad it hurts. Everyday it gets worse. You don't understand, as much as you'd like to, you don't. Me and Maddie...we NEED this... We need a child. It kills her that she can't have a child, Vladdie ... She keeps saying how much she fails at being a wife to me. It hurts watching her fall apart like this. That's why.." Jack looked back up at his stunned friend with a determined expression and nodded. "I HAVE to find a way to do this. You understand, right?"

Vlad swallowed a lump in his throat as he stared back into Jack's eyes. He had to admit, it wasn't the intentions that was bad about this, it was the spell book he was using. Though Vlad had feigned disinterest with hunting and witchcraft when it would be brought up, Vlad had done extensive research on the time period centered around the Salem Witch trials. Though Amity was no where near Salem, it still had it's fair share of witches. Powerful ones, like the one who owned the book Jack was holding. Of course, Vlad played ignorant about who's exactly it is in hopes of changing Jack's mind, but unfortunately he seemed to be hard set on doing whatever it is he's going to do. Yes, Vlad knew who's book was in Jack's hand. One of the most feared of witches from the early 1600's. 

The book his best friend held currently was the feared 'Phantom'.

Uncharacteristicly, Vlad let out a shudder and nodded at his friend. There was obviously no convincing his friend of doing something, ANYTHING else, than use that damned book. He grit his teeth and clenched his fists to his sides. Maybe nothing would happen, the witch was long dead anyway, besides, there was even a chance that it could actually grant what his closest friends wanted the most, and there was nothing wrong with that, right?

Yes. Vlad thought to himself. The man needs therapy, he was in an unstable state of mind due to the saddening news, and he REALLY didn't need to make it worse by using the witch's book. Vlad carefully put a hand on his friend's broad shoulder and sighed.

"Jack... I understand where you're coming from. In fact, if I were in the same situation, I would most likely do the same thing..." Not really, Vlad quickly redeemed. "But that book... is definitely not the answer. Who knows the things that could be unleashed from using a spell from that book. You don't know anything about it..."

"I know ENOUGH! Go on, Vlad! Get out of here then! You obviously don't understand! Go on, just get out of here!" Jack bellowed angrily and shoved Vlad to the door. Vlad pretended not to notice the tears prickling his friend's eyes as he was shoved out of the lab door.

"No, Jack! Wait, don't-" The door was swiftly shut in the older mans face. When he tried to open the door, he found that the brute of a bafoon had locked the lab door. A feeling of dread overcame Vlad as he began banging on the door in hopes of his friend seeing through his depression. Though all was in vain.

The hunter ignored his friend's distressed calls from behind the door and opened up the book once again. Same as before, a feeling of unease overcame him, the book heavy in his hands when he set it onto the lab table. He closed his eyes and let out a small, shakey breath, the words he spoke next seemed to come natural to him.

"Book, show me what I must do. Fulfill my wishes!" He spoke firmly, his voice edged with only a hint of his fear.

The book glowed a light green and shook in his arms, making him quickly let go of it and watched it hit the table and magically flip through its pages. When it stopped, it was in the back of the book, where a spell was scrawled out in what looked like crayon. It wasn't, obviously. Jack slowly leaned down and looked at it with a confused expression. Carefully, he picked up the book, cautious to not smudge the words on the side and brought it closer to his face so he could read it better.

"In the night he will appear again, with little clemency and compassion.

His voice will tantalize all who listen, from one dawn to the next he will be back from the dead, ready for all those who should appose him.

Oh, hunter who reads this spell, blinded by despair, many thanks, though thou should know they have just unleashed their own personalized hell."

Jack finished and set the book back down on the table and crossed his arms. "A smart ellec book, huh? That didn't help me at all! How was that crummy spell supposed to fix my problems?!"

The hunter slammed his hand down onto the metal table and unbeknownst to him, the book let out a beam of green light into the sky, briefly shooting up into the cloudy sky before it disappeared as quickly as it came. What is known of its meaning, is not pleasant.

Poor Jack Fenton was still trying not to cry from his place on the table. His shoulders shook and his breath hitched, but still he would not cry. All he wanted was a child. A child he could call his own, that he would care for and love with all his heart. He knew this all both he, and his wife, could ever want. Jack cursed to himself when tears fell down his cheeks and he let out an involuntary sob. Why was he so weak?! He couldn't even hold it together for his beloved...

The hunter froze in his grieving when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. With a small jump, he looked over his shoulder, expecting to give Vlad a good talking to, but instead he saw the gentle smile of his wife, Maddie. He slowly turned to look at her, his eyes wide, knowing he had been caught in the act. He blinked once. Twice. He quickly wiped away the remaining tears in his eyes. This was definitely not how he EVER wanted her to see him.

Maddeline looked sadly upon her husband, she reached down with gentle care and wiped away the tears threatening to leak out of his eyes. She gave him a soft smile, filled with such love and affection, hoping to ease his pain, if only slightly.

"M-Maddie... I..I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to-"

He was silenced with a gentle shush from his wife's pursed lips.

"Shh, my love. I know, Vlad told me everything. I understand your reasons for doing this were honorable, but, darling... who knows the destruction you may have just unleashed by using that book. Did you not see the beam of light that shot into the sky?" His wife scolded him softly, easing him back into a standing position.

Jack blinked once more in his own state of confusion and powered down at his wife. "Beam of light? When? I didn't see anything..." He trailed off with a small pout adorning his face.

Maddie smiled wider and nodded her head. "No, dear. I'm guessing when you read the spell, the book did...err...something. But, I guess we'll figure out just what it did through research.." She placed a hand on her chin, lost in her thoughts.

"WHAT?! MADS, THEN WE NEED TO GET OUR GEAR AND INVESTIGATE! " Jack began to move frantically around the lab, grabbing all sorts of unnamed equipment. His wife stood a ways away, watching her husband, amusedly.

"There's my husband..." She whispered lovingly, with a shake of her head.

wwWW Meanwhile at Amity Park Cemetery WWww

Mr. Lancer stood with gathering of family and friends at the grave of his recently departed aunt Carla. Unfortunately for him, he didn't care for the location of her burial. But, of course, he didn't really have a say in the matter. Still, he knew the story behind what was buried here at this cemetery now with his aunt. It made him a bit nervous about stating in the middle of it. This really didn't set well with one of his cousins when he spoke a bit of his thoughts to her. It was alright, he had never really cared for her anyway.

"Tough day, I assume?" A boy, no older than eighteen, that shocked him out of his thoughts was suddenly standing beside the middle aged man. His white hair positively glowing in the remaining sunlight shining over them. What really confused the English teacher was how the boy was COVERED in dirt. Absolutely covered in it. Lancer looked at the boy with a stunned expression.

The boy turned to look at him, taking his eyes off of the casket that had been lowered into the ground. "What is the matter? " He broke out into an almost twisted grin. "Something on my face? GWAH HA HA HA! Ahem. Sorry about that. Small tickle in my throat, nothing more. " The teen shook off some dirt from his shoulder and gave a small, not so subtle glance at the man beside him.

The boy stretched out his limbs, making a rather rude sound as he did so, much to Lancer's annoyance and the anger of those attending the funeral. He opened one eye and took some peeks at the people glaring at him and smiled.

"Ah, well. Seems I am unwelcome here. No matter. I've had a rather tough day myself..." The boy leaned in close to the teacher's ear and his voice sent shivers down his spine. " You see, climbing out of a seven foot hole and ripping my way through three inches of grass is NOT pleasant, nor easy, for that matter. So, tell me.. What year is it, on the day of my resurrection?"

"Look, kid. What you're doing isn't funny, alright?! So, why don't you just go back to your little friends that are probably hiding away right now and get lost! Your costume isn't even right, Phantom has red eyes. " A man over by the casket called over at him. His eyes were puffy, probably from grieving, Phantom concluded.

'They most certainly are not.' The witch gave a small pout at the man before turning to look at the one he had originally addressed. "I believe I asked you a question, Aaron Lancer. If you would please answer my question prior to the rude interruption-"

"YOU'RE THE RUDE INTERRUPTION!" The man from earlier shouted in exasperation. He was probably closer to the recently passed loved one than Lancer was. If the way he was acting was any indication. Phantom chose to ignore his comment, a rare form of mercy not normally shown from him and looked at stout gentleman in front of him once again. The man should count himself lucky Phantom was feeling generous today. Afterall, it WAS a day to be celebrating. The day he returned to suck the life out of all the humans in the town was sure to be a momentous occasion.

"It's 2016 ..." The English teacher muttered, not looking in anyone's particular direction and gave a shakey sigh. He certainly didn't like the way this teen was looking at him like he was a five star meal.

'So my spell was completely successful..' Phantom thought a bit smugly until a another thought crossed his mind. 'But who used my spell book?' Phantom looked up at the man who answered him and nodded politely. " Thank you. Because of your kindness... " The witch's voice turned dark and cruel. " You shall be one of the last I drain from this damned town. " And with that, Phantom began walking down the hill, back to the entrance of the graveyard, leaving a frightened Mr. Lancer behind him.

Curiously, Phantom pulled open the gate and made his way out onto the sidewalk. He tapped his foot against it a few times, furrowing his dark brows at its firmness. "Stone?" He questioned to himself, unaware of the passerbyes that looked at him like he was an idiot. He stepped out completely on it and looked around hesitantly.

His eye's widened as he saw many other people, dressed as different mythical beings. He was even more surprised to find a child, no older than three, walking with his mother looking just like him. Phantom frowned at the sight, he began walking, following them really to try and figure out what was going on. He hadn't intended the boy turning around and giving him a missing toothed grin.

"Phantom! Yer here! Hey! Hey! He's here! " The little boy bounced on his feet, jumping to try and match Phantom's height of 5'9 but was failing miserably. The girl turned and looked the teen over with a raised brow. She was clearly wondering why he was covered in dirt.

Phantom frowned at the woman. He didn't like the way she was staring at them. With a quick dart of his own eyes he took in her appearance, tight, form fitting clothing, black hair, blue eyes. 'Ahh, there's a treat.' Phantom practically drooled. Women now wore clothes that revealed skin, and their hair was allowed to flow freely behind them. It stunned Phantom, never mind the fact that she's out of the house, by herself, how absurd. At least she is still taking care of her child.

Without another glance, Phantom turned from the two and began walking the other direction. Perhaps he could pick up on some more knowledge from observing HIS genders clothing preference. What he didn't know was the girl he saw was a teenager babysitting her little brother for her mother.

He quickly noticed all of the men, old or not, were dressed similar to what Phantom himself was wearing, so he decided not to take fashion advice from them just yet. Since he had seen a child wearing the same garments. His death day must of somehow became a ritual of sorts. Instead he focused on some males around his "age" and tool note of their appearances. Baggy tee shirts, loose pants, a type Phantom had never seen. He tilted his head at the odd style choice, ignoring, once again, the odd looks he was receiving from staring out like a lunatic. Which he was, so Phantom wasn't exactly offended by their reactions.

Once the witch had deemed he had gathered enough information in order to blend in, he made his way into an alleyway so to be unseen when he changes form. He didn't want to be found out JUST yet.

Phantom grabbed at his cloak with a thoughtful expression, his face twisting into a scowl at the thought of going without it. 'What a shame it is to be, I was born again with this cloak, I shall be incomplete without it. Still, I can't move along in this new time looking as I do now. ' Phantom thought to himself repeatedly, trying to convince himself it was for the best.

'Once I drain this town,' Phantom thought dryly, 'I can wear whatever I please.' He quickly muttered a spell under his breath, fumbling over some of the words since he was doing it from memory. He hoped he'd at least have some sort of natural look to him.

Once Phantom felt the tingling sensation down the back of his spine, he knew the spell had taken effect. With a quick wave of his hand he assembled what appeared to be his reflection in mid air, and peered at it.

His once, starch-white hair was now a dark, dark black. His eyes no longer a toxic green that glow in the dark, but an icy blue. Phantom frowned at his reflection, noticing a bruise that wrapped around the middle of his neck like a ring. Not even being dead for four hundred years was enough for it to go away. A permanent reminder of his capture. A pernanent reminder of his captor, Jackson Fenton. Seems fate has a way of making him think of the lowest times of his life. Phantom shuddered and waves the mirage away, his frown morphed into one of confusion when he heard a rather loud sound down alley, off into the...stone walkway.

"Time to observe my prey.." He muttered to himself as a smug smirk graced his lips. He walked back out of the alleyway, his cloak replaced with a white tee-shirt with a red oval in the center and some baggy jeans. Of course, the witch felt uncomfortable showing the permanent bruise around his neck and the scars running up and down his arms. Nervously, he rubbed at his forearms, looking about at the new discoveries scattered around the area.

He was so swept up with the new inventions, especially the cars and the streetlights, he didn't notice two teens walking torwards him until he was knocked down by one. Caught off guard, he fell to the ground and landed on his bottom while the other remained standing.

"Oh, jeez! Sorry! Are you okay, dude? " A boy wearing a red beret and glasses leaned down and reached a hand out to him. "I didn't even see you.."

Phantom stared at the teenager then at the hand stretched towards him and lifted a brow. "I am...alright. " With grace, he lifted himself to his feet, ignoring the hand in favor of helping himself up. He hid his pride when he saw the male give a small pout at the action.

"Good job, Tuck! " A girl, Phantom could only describe as gothic, gave a slap to the back of the dark skinned boy's head. It was odd seeing a woman dressed in such revealing clothing, though Phantom wasn't complaining. In fact he rather liked the fact that more and more young girls were 'revealing' themselves. Back in his day, it was seen as a sin to do such. That just means more people flowing into the zone instead of paradise. Plus, Phantom would be lying if he said he wouldn't mind this girl being there with him, now THAT'S a paradise!

After that short inner desire was over, the girl turned towards him, along with her friend and gave a small smile, but her eyes shown suspicion. "Hey, my names Sam and that geek over there is Tucker. Haven't seen you around here before.. You new here?"

The techno geek quickly recovered and fixed his hat on his head while Phantom nodded his head.

"Yes, you could say I've been away for quite some time.." He mentally gave himself a pat on the back when the girl gave him a nod in acknowledgement.

"Well then, "new guy"..What's your name?" The girl named Sam said with a sly smirk and a hand on her extended hip.

Phantom's eyes widened as he now mentally slapped himself. His name, what was his name?! He briefly thought back to his time as a mortal child and decided that would be the name he would choose. After all, he couldn't call himself 'Phantom' just yet, he needed to observe first.

With a smile, almost genuine-like, Phantom stretched out his hand in greeting just as the techno geek before him had and a mischievous glint took to his eyes when they shook his hand.

"Daniel. My name is Daniel.."


	3. Phantom tries a nasty burger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phantom continues his rouse as a teenage dork and meets the Fentons.

Ch. 3 : A Wolf Among the Lambs.

Without further adieu…

wWW Amity Park 5:36pm WWw 

Phantom, or shall we say ‘Danny’ had been following a these wretched teens for a good hour now. In that time, he had been asked a variety of questions going from ‘how old are you’ to ‘if you were trapped on a deserted island and could only bring one thing, what would it be?’ Needless to say Danny was quite annoyed by the time they reached something called the ‘Nasty Burger. He briefly wondered why anyone would go there for nourishment with a title like that. 

Sam had continued to show her suspicion of him, making him worry his cover may be blown sooner rather than later. Still, he would bite his lip and sheepishly rub the back of his neck when answering a question he didn't know. He was positive this girl knew he was different. 

Her companion, Tucker, still as oblivious as ever to Phantom's alias, continued to chat with him about this game called ‘DOOM’ or whatever. He wonders when the boy will realize that he has absolutely no idea what that contraption he's playing it on is, or anything about the game.

The place they had arrived at presented its title in bold lettering, Phantom freaking out for a moment because there were no torches lighting it, but he quickly recovered when he saw the Goth’s stare. It was a greasy, disgusting place, with messy floors, terrible decorating, and the smell made him want to puke. The teens he was with thought nothing of it as they sat at a booth all together. The oblivious one went to order food after having a brief argument with the girl on the ‘purposes of meat’. Danny only agreed with Tucker because as a child he wasn't one for eating vegetables himself. 

This earned him an angry huff from the girl named Sam and a pat on the back from the other. Silence kept them both awkwardly looking around the restaurant until the other came back with their food and began eating. He gave a sigh of relief when Sam began making conversation. 

“So, Danny.. You're new so I guess you wouldn't know, but there's a festival that happens later tonight that lasts until dawn. Do you know what it's about? OOH. Better yet, do you know what Amity Park is known for?” She casually chewed on the end of a carrot in between her sentences and looked over at him. 

“Uh...Uhm well. I would have to say paranormal.“ Danny nodded his head at her, carefully biting his lip and praying that he didn't say anything too suspicious.

“Ah! Cool dude, you got it right! We're known for our witches! Kinda like Salem was. See, back in the sixteen hundreds, there was this powerful witch named Pha-” The techno geek was quickly silenced with a slap on the arm from the vegan. 

“Hey! I'll handle this. I TOLD you that story, remember? Anyway, Danny, there was a powerful witch that had claimed our town as its feeding ground back in the early sixteen hundreds. He started out small, killing off one or two townsfolk every month, but then one night, he killed off all of the children of Amity Park. I personally think it was to do some powerful, powerful magic, but that's just me. Anyway, one of the hunters of the village had secretly followed the children into the forest where the witch had led them and found the witch and the poor bodies of the children. So he gathered the other townspeople and captured the witch before he could escape, and then hanged him.”

‘Oh, please.’ Phantom thought to himself. ‘There wasn't a CAPTURE. I indefinitely let them kill me.’ Phantom also noticed that the girl had avoided saying his name aloud unlike her friend who had almost. He mentally smirked at the girl's secrecy. So she suspected him of THAT, eh? Well, he’ll just have to confirm her suspicions later tonight when drains them all. 

“But that's not all. Before the witch died, he made a spell, a spell that will allow him to walk free alive and well on this day and year. The townsfolk weren't sure if this was true or not but those were the witch’s last words before he went-” She made a squishing sound with her mouth and quickly cocked her head to the side, implying a broken neck. 

Danny subconsciously rubbed at the base of his neck where his bruises were and looked at them both, feigning fear. “S-So….He's going come back and drain everyone t-tonight?” 

“Yeah, bad timing on your part dude. First time in town and a witch is going to come in and drain you dry. Yeesh, sorry about that. But, hey, that's Amity Park for yah. See, I've always been told the story ..but it wasn't until tonight that I learned that he was coming back tonight. Our parents and textbooks tend to leave that little detail out, you know? To keep everyone from panicking and junk. So really, the only reason I know is because Sam found this old book in the library written by a hunter from that time and showed me the story. “

Phantom blinked, and looked over at the girl across the booth. “Who...Uhm Who was the author of said book?” He questioned.

The goth smiled tightly and looked over at him. “You know, I just CANNOT remember. Oh well. Too bad, Danny. Looks like you won't find out, huh?” She placed a finger on her pouted lips and hid a cocky smile. So, she was mocking him. A dangerous game to play with an all powerful witch from a different time period. 

The girl was brave, Phantom will give her that.

But bravery can also be a fool's game. If she was to toy with him, then so he will her! 

Danny cautiously picked at his food, looking at the layers of different items he wasn't particularly sure of, and sighed. “Well, I assume that's just too bad. Oh! But I'm a bit confuddled at the moment, since it was written by a hunter from the town, are there any hunters still around today?” 

The beret wearing teen immediately stopped chowing down on his burger to answer him, not even bothering to swallow, much to the disgust of the other two at the table. “MHM. That would be the Fenton's. They're the only hunters left in our town, their family's been hunting witches for centuries! Pretty neat, huh?” And so, at Danny’s nod, he continued his disgusting, greasy morsel.

Sam only chuckled nervously from her friend's statement and Phantom gave her an amused smile. ‘Nice try, girl. But I always get what I want. ‘ Phantom stopped mid thought when he registered what had just been said. He almost sounded like...HIM.

Danny gave a brief thankful smile and stood from the table. “Thank you, you wouldn't happen to know where these Fenton's live?” He trailed off, choosing to look out the window. “They’re ...well. I’m ..INTERESTED in their work…” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself, not just them.

The witch cringed when he saw both of the teens faces scrunch up in confusion and he rubbed at his arms. When he saw the darker teen had wolfed down his burger, Phantom used a fork to push his own untouched sandwich over to him. He wasn't about to eat that greasy thing, and hopefully it will distract one of them. 

Just as he had suspected, the other male instantly trained his eyes to the burger laid out in front of him and began to pack it down. Phantom grimaced only a bit and looked to Sam, tilting his ever so innocent head. “So, do they live nearby, perhaps somewhere not a ways off, Hm?”

The goth blinked at his word choice then nodded her head. A sly smile spread across her pale face and Phantom couldn't help but dread its meaning. “Uh huh. They live just down the block. We'll show them to you...won't we, Tuck?” She quickly elbowed the pig next to her and shot him a tight smile.

Thankfully, the boy got the message and quickly swallowed his mouthful of mush. He smiled over at Danny, laughing a bit. “Yeah,, sure. We'll take you to meet them now if you want…”

Phantom felt himself grow ten shades paler.

 

wwWWww Fenton Works 7:12pm wwWWww 

 

He was wrong. So wrong for wanting to come here. If Danny thought that the glowing sign at the restaurant was extreme, he was SADLY misguided. This family feels the need to blast their name down passerby's throats and blind them with the brightness. 

‘Maybe a show of wealth.’ Phantom thought dryly, though a bit of fear shown through his feigned annoyance.

With no hesitation whatsoever, Sam abruptly knocked on the door, effectively snapping Phantom out of his thoughts with a jolt. 

The dark teen beside him failed to hide a laugh. “Dude, jumpy.” Phantom was so close to turning that boy into a fish for his late dinner it wasn't even funny. Maybe a trout.

The door immediately opened and a woman with auburn hair and amethyst eyes smiled unsuredly at them. Her appearance sent an unwanted jab at Phantom's heart and he tried not to show any outward emotion from the woman's appearance. That hair color, the eyes… That kind smile Phantom distinctly remembered his own mother doing when he was hu-

With a harsh bite of his lower lip, Phantom let out a barely audible grunt. He can't think of things such as that now. He needed to drain the town, as HE wants him to. It was another thing, the lanky teen had been secretly wondering about. Would HE even still be around? It had been nearly four hundred years since his own death, so what exactly had become of the other? The young witch let out an involuntary shudder at the thoughts plaguing his mind at the moment.

Thankfully, he was kick started out of his thoughts when the older woman let out a small, but pleased giggle. He looked up at her from the bottom of the stairs. Phantom had yet to figure out how the other two had went about climbing them, never mind the fact that all the other humans had been doing this naturally for years.

She gave a small smile in his direction. So kind, Phantom's heart skipped a beat. She slowly beckoned him with a finger, and the witch felt inclined to obey her. But what on earth was he thinking?! This was a witch hunter, for goodness sakes! And Phantom was , if he wished to toot his own horn, one of the most well-known, most powerful witches out there! 

Did this woman remind him so much of his late mother that he couldn't even process that he had just somehow made it up the stairs and onto her concreted porch with no problem? Of course, Phantom hated the way this human had power over him. She was similar to Sam in that way, he guessed. That calculating gaze that just makes the witch feel on edge, but he couldn't let them get to him. 

He must remain focused on the task presented to him. 

Because HE may be watching.

“Danny? DANNY! EARTH TO DANNY, HELLLLLLOOOO!” Phantom scowled when he was yet again jolted out of his thoughts by the increasingly annoying tech-fish boy. He swears he's going to be the first one he drains tonight, if not his dinner. And since when did he say they could call him DANNY? He hadn't even noticed until now.

With an apprehensive look, he glanced over at the boy who had unnecessarily yelled in his ear. He used all the willpower he had to not glare at the boy, let alone turn him into something quiet. “Y-y...Ahem. Yes?” He grimaced at his own voice crack and looked between the three before him, curiously. 

The soon-to-be-fish-boy chuckled and gave Daniel a pat on the back before speaking. “Thought we lost you there, dude. Anyway this here is Mrs Fenton. Her and her husband are one of the oldest hunter families that have remained in Amity Park. So, there's no better place for you to go than here for all of your “witchy” probs.” He grinned excitedly and looped an arm around the irritated boy's shoulders.

“Ah, yes. I see. Tell me, Mrs Fenton. Your husband's name wouldn't happen to be Jackson Fenton, would it?” Phantom silently prayed to whatever God that would listen that this wasn't the people he was thinking of.

She gave him a small nod, probably wondering where he was going with this. “Hmm? Oh, yes. Yes, he is, sweetie. Why? Do you need him for something?” She looked happy that someone seemed to know of their family from outside of Amity, but she also looked a bit cautious. Phantom would have to be careful later on around her.

He gave an uneasy smile and nodded his head at the middle aged woman. “Yes, I am very….shall we say..INTERESTED in your family’s work regarding witches. “ Phantom mentally slapped himself for the way he was speaking. Cognitive influences are not something he enjoyed being pushed into his subconscious. 

“Really? Well, sweetie, tell me, what's your name?” She looked down at him kindly, seemingly interested in his own say.

Phantom blinked at the question, never really thinking he'd never get as far as he had come. He expected hunters to be at every end, attempting to expose him as a witch to the people of Amity, instead, there seemed to be a distinct lack of hunters in the whole town.

Phantom mentally smirked.

“Daniel.” He replied curtly. He gave her a brief flash of a smile, and her response was a raised eyebrow.

“And….your LAST name, dear?” She smiled down at him, playfully. Her voice soft but her gaze held suspicion. 

Damn. 

Phantom immediately panicked. He didn't think he'd get this far ahead, really. His last name! Goodness, what was his last name?! He couldn't very well use his REAL one, especially not in front of this woman. He felt a bead of sweat roll down his cheek. 

“Uh...My name? You want to know my name? Well...uh it's Uhm “ Phantom cursed himself because the only name he could come up with was..

“M- Masters.. My name is Daniel Masters..” He grit out, not looking at the woman until she let out a small gasp and quickly ushered them all inside. 

“Vlad! Vlad, come here quick!” Maddie shouted down to the hall until she heard his curt footsteps heading towards them and ushered him to the seat beside her on the couch. Phantom felt his stomach drop at the name, and his heart stopped dead in his chest when he saw the man. 

Despite the physical changes the resemblance was undeniable. The cold eyes, jawline, nose shape, even the body build. It all led Phantom back to one man.

 

“Plasmius.” Danny muttered, eyes wide as he stared at the man. Despite himself, Phantom didn't care about the slip of tongue, he only cared about the literal root of all evil sitting beside the older woman. She seemed so comfortable around him too! None of them had any idea!

Vlad immediately looked startled and leaned back to look at the lanky teen standing at the doorway. “Hm? Oh dear boy, have we met? My, I remember these two teens from their trouble at the Amity Food Administration benefit this summer. But you… Dare I say, I haven't seen you around.” He gave Danny a small, strained smile and enter laced his hands together on his lap. 

Sam looked over at Danny with a raised eyebrow. So not even Vlad-fruitloop-Masters didn't know who this kid was? Even more mysteries to add to the brew. A pun, she was sure Phantom could appreciate. He was known for them, after all, his book was full of nothing but puns.

Phantom resisted the urge to gut him and instead decided to give a tight smile back. Plasmius didn't seem to know who he was, and that's good, Phantom could definitely use that to his advantage later on. Madeline instantly pulled him over to the vacant seat to her right and patted his shoulder, mentally noting how boney it felt. 

 

“This is Daniel MASTERS, Mr. Masters. He's new in town. He came in for a visit today, isn't that neat? “ Sam gave a small smile, flashing Danny a small smirk in amusement when noticing he sweat dropped. Maybe that name wasn't such a good idea, what from the look Plasmi- Vlad was giving him. 

“Really Now? Well, hello child. It's nice to...meet you. “ With a quick uneasy glance at Danny, Vlad turned to Maddie and grinned. “Maddie, would you care if I stole Daniel away for a bit? It will only take a minute…” His eyes darted to Phantom's own and dismissed the glare thrown his way.

“Not at all, Vlad. In fact-” 

“Splendid, well come along, Daniel. I believe we have MUCH to discuss. “ Danny was beckoned down the stairs into the lab where the large steel door was shut behind him. Instantly he felt a strong grip wrapped tightly around his throat. Phantom gagged as his windpipe was nearly crushed when Vlad picked up his lanky form and brought it close to him. “So, my dear, dead little badger, what pleasure do I owe this reunion?” He smirked at the struggling boy. FUUUUUU- Rated T, Phantom. He knew who he was after all. 

Phantom struggled to bring in air, it made Vlad loosen his grip, if only slightly. He greedily sucked in air, choosing to ignore the satisfied smirk that etched across the other's face. That is, until Vlad noticed the deep bruises that ran along Phantoms neck. Too big to be from his hands and too wide to be his grip Plasmius thought to himself. 

Vlad seemed perplexed by the dark purple bruises that wound themselves around the smaller lanky neck. “So THAT'S what happened to you…” He muttered softly to himself. “....That ignorant OAF! After ALL these years of searching for you, your remains, SOMETHING, your father decides it'd be a good idea to BURY you?! Why?? You're a witch, evil! You KILLED his child! So why….” He trailed off, dropping Phantom to the ground in the process, not even caring when the boy instantly started to dry heave on the floor.

“He….hah...He's more h-honorable than you'll EVER be, Plasmius!” Phantom panted, a small bead of sweat rolling down his face as he sat on his hands and knees, glaring at the taller man in front of him. “Of COURSE he buried me!”

Vlad turned and glowered down at the teen. He gave a swift kick to the boy's stomach, laughing a bit from his cry of pain. “Oh? Then why did he HANG you, dear boy?” He sneered when Phantom stood up, shakily. He frowned and gave him a harder kick. “-And it's VLAD Masters here, boy.”

Phantom felt his anger, from years of buildup, swell until his face turned red and his eye's reverted back to their emerald green, strands of his white hair leaking through his disguise. He pointed at Vlad. “Because of you! Everything that's ever been wrong with my life was because of you! “ He gave the ground a hard stomp, some of the lab tables shaking.

The older man raised an eyebrow at the display. “Really, my boy? You're going to stomp your foot at me? Are you going to start tugging on my shirt sleeve again, pouting until you get your way?” He chided with a slight chuckle rumbling through his chest.

Phantom growled and lunged at Vlad, eyes burning and hands alight with magic. Unfortunately, Vlad gave a mocking sneer and sidestepped out of harm's way. What. An. INFURIATING. Man. Phantom continued to strike out at the billionaire, his attacks becoming more careless and erratic, as his grunts became more animalistic and crazy.

Vlad kept on laughing as he dodged the teen’s attacks. Eventually, he grew tired of the display and with a wave of his hand, knocked the boy back onto the floor a ways back. Enjoying the hurt sketched across his eyes as he landed on his back and skid.

A knock on the door was heard. “Vlad? Vlad! You two have been in there an awful long time? Is everything alright?” Maddie asked from the other side of the lab door. Vlad instantly turned to the door after placing his boot on Phantom's throat and put some pressure on it to keep him quiet. The boy let out a few strangled gasps and he clawed at his foot, but otherwise he was silent.

“Ah, yes, Maddie-dear. Just finishing up. We'll be out in a moment…” Only when he heard her move away from the door did he lean down and pull the lanky teen up by his hair. “Now then, DANIEL. Are you going to continue acting a fool, or are you going to calm down and be reasonable? Come back to my side, son. You won't go hungry anymore. I KNOW that's what resulted in you draining this bloody town those 400 years ago. “ He let Phantom go, watching him as he used a table to steady himself and glared up at Vlad, eyes turning back to their guise. 

“Nonsense! I drained this town for my own power, not due to desperation!” Phantom responded hotly, folding his arms and pouting up at the older male. 

Plasmius raised a brow and smirked. “Oh, come off it, child. We both know you were starving. You think I didn't notice your rapid aging? For goodness sakes, Daniel, you were only twenty and you looked like you were eighty! You're supposed to reap souls so your body doesn't die.” He shook his head as he scolded the boy.

“Well, maybe I wanted to die. Maybe the thought of having to damn those as you have damned me was so repulsive that I felt if I tried to live on FEEDING on innocent souls, I'd be condemning myself along with them..” Phantom glowered at the taller man and rubbed at his dirt covered arms.

Vlad looked a bit taken back by the confession, and he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, ignoring the flinch as he did. “Oh, Daniel…” He gave an almost kind smile, until his grip tightened on his shoulder. “Your soul was damned after the second I dipped it in hellfire.” He responded to the teen, his eyes flashing red, his expression cruel.

“You….” Tears gathered in crystal blue eyes as he bit his lip to hold back a sob. With years of pent up frustration and confusion, Danny gave a swift punch to Vlad's jaw, so quick even he didn't see it coming to dodge it. “Go to hell, demon! “ He growled out, pointing at him. 

Walking towards the door, rubbing at his quickly bruising jaw, he smiled in Phantom's direction and beckoned him to follow. “Come along now, Daniel. It's time we head back. After all… It's best you remember, if you're calling me a demon, then what exactly does that make you?...” He chuckled and opened the lab door. “Come along now. I'm sure we'll have a LONG time to talk more..” He walked out the door leaving Phantom alone in the quiet laboratory.

He stood there in the center, a determined look crossing his face as he stared intently at the backside of Plasmius. With a growl he narrowed his eyes at the other. 

“Not if I have anything to say about it.”

 

WWW

So is Phantom a good guy or a bad guy??   
Is Sam going to find out about Phantom?  
Will Tucker ever stop being a total nerd????

WELL YOU'RE NOT GONNA FIND OUT IN THE NEXT CHAPPIE BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO BE BACKSTORY! HAHAGA*HACK. COUGH. CHOKE*  
Also! If you're wondering why Phantom has his own book, but Vlad doesn't, that comes into play later on, so don't worry about it!

 

Ahem. See you guys next time! -ShadTastic.


	4. A Baby's First Tantrum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look into Phantom's past before he became a witch.

CH 4: The Boy That Never Was

 

This may be a filler. (It probably won't be, but just in case I'll say it.) Of course, back stories are important for character development, so nyehh!

I'm not going to say much about what this is about. After all, I want it to be a surprise.

wwWw

Amity Park 1625

 

A small boy by the age of five walked alongside his large father. The toddler had crystal blue eyes and raven black hair, attributes, which make him resemble his father that much more. His mother, sick as she may be, her small frame was passed onto their son, along with his small nose and fuller cheeks. 

Jackson loved him. 

It was a cold, December night. His son had just recently celebrated his fifth birthday, and he was currently bundled up in his newly sewn coat. A gift from his mother, of course. It made Jackson happy to know his son would be warm enough to survive the harsh winters for a few more years in his coat. 

He noticed the child looking at him with his curious eyes, and felt a small, weak tug on his hand. With a smile, his son mumbled some words, seemingly talking to him. But, Jackson wasn't paying attention to the toddler's words, he was still amazed by the fact his sickly wife, Maddeline was able to give him a child. Though, it was ailing her greatly still, he wasn't complaining. Not with those bright eyes looking up at him with such wonder.

It was then Jackson noticed his son staring up at him, arms outstretched, meaning he wanted to be carried. The boy's feet must be getting tired from walking all day. With a laugh he hoisted his child up onto his shoulders and held onto the tiny legs that dangled. 

“So, Daniel… How do the stars shine?” He asked the child, looking up at the night sky as small snow flurries fell all around them from above.

It was a question he had asked his son before he could even answer back with words. Daniel would always respond the same. He would look up at the sky, eyes filled with such amazement and joy that Jackson couldn't help but watch each time, and he would smile, showing his missing teeth. 

When Daniel began to speak more words, it was a bit different, a verbal response was added to the fray. He would still look at the stars and smile, but then he would always, always reply with the same four words.

“....The Earth said ‘hello!’ “ His son patted his shoulder and giggled, his sweet little voice music to Jackson's ears as he listens to the exact response he has heard for the last five years now. 

It was absolutely precious. 

His wife, though she lay in bed most days, had begun to call their son ‘Starshine’ because of his responses. Daniel would always giggle and kiss his mother's nose, and Jackson can always feel his heart swell from the little moments given to him.

His son, their son, was Jackson's entire world. Everything he ever did nowadays was for Daniel, and he could feel the pride steadily grow in his chest each day from just being around him. They had done it. Him and Maddeline finally have what they have always wanted. A family. Daniel was the link that held them together. The finishing piece to the puzzles that built up their lives, and Jackson made sure their son knew of that day by day that passed them by. 

The man was knocked from his thoughts when he felt Daniel tug gently on the hair underneath his cap, whining for his father's attention. This made Jackson smile.

“Daddy… “ His son leaned over his shoulder to peek down at him, an adorable site, and frowned. Something was troubling him, Jackson concluded. “Is...Mommy ever going to get better?” He bit his lip and stared at his small hands wound in his father's hair. 

Jackson tried not to let Daniel see how much the question affected him and let out a shaky sigh. “Well...Danny-boy… We just don't know yet. See, thy mother's been sick for a while, even before thou wast born. So the doctors aren't sure if she even will get better.” The father quickly realized his error when he saw the boy's eyes widen and quickly fill up with tears. “N-No! What I mean is she WILL get better...the doctors just don't know when, alright?” 

Without pause, the boy let out a squeal of happiness and tugged at his father's hair, making the man wince. “Daddy! Daddy! She shall be fine! We can gives her medi...medi… Humm….We can be doctors!” He laughed and pointed to the small village quickly coming up ahead. “Then we'll know when she gets better!” He basically cackled into the night at this point and Jackson felt himself chuckling along with him. 

Surely, this boy will make a fine young man one day.

With Jackson still laughing, they made their way into the poor village and made their way back to the small cot, Jackson waving to those out and about just coming home from chopping extra wood as he had, Daniel had turned around by that point, feeling a cold tingling feeling on his neck. He looked around, back into the woods they came from, two red eyes glowed brightly through the trees,, making the young toddler gasp in fright and begin to cry. 

His father, distracted as he was, instantly picked the boy off his shoulders and held him close. “Daniel? Daniel, what's wrong, son?” He tried to sooth the child, but with his arms around him and Daniel’s head on his broad shoulder, the toddler now had no choice but to watch as the red eyes in the distance grew closer, following them as they made their way back to their livings. 

To say Daniel was crying was now an understatement, the toddler was practically struggling with all his might to push away from his brute of a father to get away from whatever it was that was frightening him. It puzzled Jackson, to say the least. One second, he and his son were laughing and everything was fine, the next thing he knew, Daniel was going ballistic and trying his hardest to get away from him. 

“Bad thing! Daddy… Daddy bad thing, forest!” Daniel whined and pointed to somewhere behind Jackson. “Scary, Daddy please! Home!” Even though his father could only make out certain words, he could tell his son was freaking out from something behind him. 

He quickly turned around, drawing one of his hidden hunter weapons and held it out in front of him. Instinct telling him to point it to the forest rather than the village. “Come out, beast! Spawn of hell! I know thou is there!” He growled, while also attempting to shush his frightened son. Though Daniel was curious about the object his father pulled out, and it had stifled his crying a bit, he was still louder than Jackson would have preferred with a likely witch hanging around.

“Daddy! Run, bad thing! Bad thing!” The toddler continued to plead, his tiny fists pounding on Jackson's broad back in distress. But, the boy's father was hearing none of it. He was protecting not only his son, but his wife and their village. If he could kill it, then there would be one less monster in this world. 

One less his son would have to kill in his stead should he ever fall. 

As quickly as they came, the red eyes vanished from the trees, leaving no evidence of ever having been there to begin with. Jackson swore under his breath, quiet enough so Daniel wouldn't hear and quickly ushered Daniel inside their small cot. 

He would have to keep a heavy watch on that forest.

 

Www

Amity Park 1644 

Phantom sat at the edge of the forest, his forest, as he claimed it to be. His cloak pulled back, showing off his luminous eyes and vibrant hair to the night sky. It was cold that night, for two reasons. One, snow littered the ground in a soft blanket, and floated from above and onto the village below. 

Two. 

That wretched girl was wearing HIS coat. 

Yes, Phantom thought to himself as he watched the small girl he refused to call his sister. Her long red hair, pulled back with lace ribbons and her dress a nice blue, frilled at the ends. Her laughter bubbled in his eardrums like an infection, her smiles stained his vision with red. He wanted nothing more than to kill this girl. 

Nothing more. 

But he would always stop, closer to succeeding than the last attempt, and think of his parents. They were devastated when he disappeared. They searched relentlessly for him, even with his mother's condition, she willed herself to get up each day and search until nightfall with his father. It both touched and saddened Phantom. 

His parents nearly worked themselves to death looking for someone who was long since dead. Of course, they didn't know that at their stage of grief, and Phantom couldn't just tell them. 

It was the day they stopped looking, stopped trying to look for him, that Phantom felt the emptiness he held grow bigger and bigger with each passing day. But that void that had make shifted its way into Phantom soon turned into hate and bitterness. He soon began to hate his own parents for moving on while he all the while continued to suffer...alone.

It wasn't their fault, Phantom knew. But, with the mindset of a five year old boy, he seeked their attention. The attention he would never be given again from them. THIS is what made Phantom so spiteful. He would send rodents into their cott, rob them of their cheese and bread, plague the village with pests, such as mosquitoes and ants, and he would poison their soil, so their crops would grow poorly. 

When they had another child, is when Phantom thinks he finally broke apart. Currently, he was watching their family's newest addition. A young girl by the name of Jazmine. Phantom would scold himself for watching her at odd hours of the night, but he couldn't help it. He had never gotten the chance to experience his childhood as this child would be able to. His wrinkled body now weak from malnourishment and fatigue. But in human years he was a young man, barely twenty, but yet he looked like he was in his eighties.

His body no longer got nourishment from food or drink, it now gained it from human souls. Particularly innocent ones. Of course, this was one of the reasons he looked the way he did now, he refused to take from others what was taken from him. Despite how badly he wanted to kill the new child of his late mother and father,he couldn't. 

Because it's what Plasmius would want him to do. 

And Phantom did everything but listen to what that demon had to say. So naturally, he did the opposite of feeding and killing. He sat there, on a withered stump, old and withered himself, starving and battling an internal conflict between right and wrong. 

Phantom would have spells like this, going from angered beyond belief, completely against the violence threatening to leak into his hands, to utterly defeated and up most depressed. Some might say Phantom had a split brain. The good and the bad, with those three distinctions slipping themselves in and out of his subconsciousness. At constant war with each other as one side attempted to take over the other. 

The witch wouldn't admit that one side has successfully overcome the other for a short while and would probably do so again, if it wasn't for Phantom's voice of reason, specifically the one that speaks of his parents the most , he would be lost in the chaos of his own mind. Endlessly searching for a way back into his consciousness. 

Noticing the girl once more, Phantom exited his thoughts and focused more on her. The way her cheeks had dimples when she would smile, the way her blue eyes sparkled when she was happy, the way her giggles sent a wave of unwanted happiness into Phantom's own h- 

No. 

NO. 

Phantom felt his anger swell yet again, the multiple sides of his brain reacting effectively. He slammed his hand against a nearby tree, immediately burning the surface of the bark. He grit his teeth so hard as tears threatened to leak from his dried up irises. He felt the different sides of his brain fight to get their say in his own thoughts.

Kill her. She's just a child. She's your replacement. They had to move on at some point- YOUR PARENTS DON'T WANT YOU ANYMORE, DANNY. THEY LOVED ME!

Phantom grabbed his head and groaned. His hunger was becoming overwhelming. He could feel the rising lust deep in his stomach. The need to feed, to kill. But, when he looked at his sister, his small, innocent sister, he knew she would be his first target when he lost control. 

As he stared up at the full moon, Phantom felt his chest tighten. He knew his end was coming.. Wherever it be from hunger or..something else, Phantom didn't know. But he felt a sense of dread overcome him as he closed his eyes and was a washed in nostalgia. 

“....Hello, Starshine. The Earth says hello…” He whispered softly against the wind of winter. He clutched his book close to his chest and fell into a needless sleep. 

When he would wake up, he would feel no more hunger. 

 

WWW

So, that's the end of this little chapter. Not as long as I'd hoped, but really it IS simply a small glimpse of what Phantom's life has been like. 

He's not just some benevolent monster I've sprouted up to take over the city of Amity Park. He's a child, hurt and alone, with the only means of contact being from that of a person he hates. 

 

Until next time..


	5. MY BOOK

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phantom learns how a toilet works

Chapter 5: Old Traditions. 

  
  


Wwww

 

Phantom stood pacing in the basement for a while. That is, until Maddie had come down to check up on him and bring him to dinner. 

 

Since when was he staying?

 

Apparently, Sam and Tucker had already taken it upon  themselves to tell Maddie about him and his interests while he was down in the basement with Plasmius. So Maddie the decided to speak to her husband about him staying for dinner. That way they could..’talk’.

 

He swore he was going to gut those children.

 

Phantom assumed he was going to meet the man of the house at dinner. He just hoped that Vlad wouldn't be there. He really didn't feel like blowing his cover in front of this town's only hunters. 

 

He walked up the stairs, carefully, after Maddie had already gone, and let out a sigh of relief when he noticed Vlad was nowhere in sight.  Hopefully, that's the way it will stay.

 

With an irritated sigh, Danny sat down at the table and looked about the kitchen area he was sitting in boredly.  He briefly realized he had been sighing an awful lot as of late, and made a note to lessen it. 

 

A loud thump was heard from upstairs, making the teen shift his gaze to the ceiling, curiously. Danny wondered if Jackson was as big of a brute in this age as he was in his own. Due to the loud thump, he believed himself to be correct in his assumption. 

 

With an aloof demeanor,  Danny looked around the kitchen/dining room and what he saw made him cringe. The walls were dirty, covered in stains. The counters look as though they had been scraped by a werewolf. Not to mention the smell that seemed to linger in the air, knowing his parents, it was either blood or sweat. Or both, depending on the situation.

 

He placed his head in his hands and rubbed at his temples, feeling a migraine starting to form. These were not his parents, so he couldn't keep thinking they were. He groaned in irritation when he heard two sets of footsteps coming down the stairway. ‘These are not my parents.’ Danny continued to repeat even as Jackson and Maddie came out from the stairway and walked into the dining room. It was bad enough when Maddie was next to him, now he had to deal with the reincarnation of his father, as well? Whoever Phantom angered, he didn't mean to do it.

 

He let out a puff of air and sat up straight in his chair when Maddie walked over and motioned to Jackson. 

 

“Danny, this is my husband, Jack. Jack, this is Danny.” She motioned to both of them with a smile and started putting the food on their plates while her husband sat down at the head of the table, Danny to his right. 

 

Did he say his name was ‘Danny’? He could've sworn he said ‘Daniel’. Oh well, whatever. 

 

He saw Jack stick out his large hand to him and quickly shook it in his own. He began to take in his fath- JACK’S  appearance this time around. He was indeed a brute of a man. His hair was as dark as his own, and his eyes were an almost blue-grey. 

 

Jack gave the teen a wide smile and gave his hand a squeeze. “Danny-boy! Good to meet yah! Maddie tells me your last name was ‘Masters’.” He stated casually, grabbing a fork when his wife put the plate down in front of him. 

 

“Uh… Yes. Nice to meet you too… Uhm and that is my last name…” He winced only slightly at his lie and gave Maddie a smile when she placed a plate of unknown food down in front of him. He picked up a fork and looked down at it, hoping Jack wasn't going to say anymore about his name.

 

Unfortunately, Phantom has never had good luck.

 

“Ooh! Does that mean you're related to Vladdie-uh..A Vlad Masters?” 

 

Phantom was very much aware of the crack  that had resounded in his head at that question. 

 

He was nothing like Plasmius, he certainly wasn't  related to the demon. He grit his teeth and nearly broke the fork held in his hand.

 

He vaguely heard the sound of Jack talking and decided to pay attention once more, catching only the tail of his sentence.

 

“-his son?”  Jack tilted his head at Danny with a small smile as Maddie sat down beside him. 

 

“His son…? You...You think I'm his son? Er… Vlad Masters’ ...son?”  He asked the hunter slowly, an overwhelming feeling of disgust clouding his senses. 

 

“Hm, well yeah. I mean you DO kinda look like him, you know? He used to have black hair like yours, plus the eyes.. You both have the same last name..” The hunter counted off on his fingers and looked up, seemingly in thought, clearly not noticing the teen looking sick across from him. 

 

Quickly, Phantom stood from the table, snapping the man out of his thoughts and drawing both of the hunter's attention on him. He turned himself towards his mother-MADDIE. “Please, I feel ill,  where is your washroom?” He felt bile rise from his stomach, so it quickly added to the distress in his voice when Maddie just looked at him.  “Please!”

 

“Oh! Ohh…. Up the stairs, second door on your right…”  She let out a bit timidly, flinching whenever the witch nearly lurched. “Are you...alrig-”

 

But, Phantom was already up the stairs and into the washroom, quickly debating on whether to use the sink or the strange contraption in the corner, by the bath. His body pulled himself towards the weird machine and he instantly lurched forward, hands on either side to hold him steady, and released the contents of his stomach. It was gross, for sure, but after he had stopped dry-heaving he felt ten times better. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and shuddered in disgust. But, at least THAT was out of his system. 

 

Like the smart person he was, it only took him three minutes to figure out how to use the bowl  machine. Noting that it seemed to be for waist, a good choice then. 

 

He cautiously walked back down the stairs, making sure no remnants of his actions remained on his shirt. He returned to the kitchen and stood at the table, bowing his head in apology.

 

“Forgive me,  I have been fighting a sickness for a while.. I did not mean to come off as rude.” Phantom realized he was getting a whole lot better at modern speech REALLY quickly. Maybe because of the teens?

 

“Oh, hun.. You should have said something. We could've given you some medicine to help level your stomach..” Madeline looks up at Danny, showing concern as she motions to her nodding husband.

 

Danny rubbed at the scars on his arms nervously. “I just… I didn't want to trouble you. I-I’m alright now, Mrs Fenton.”  Danny avoided the middle aged woman's gaze and nodded.

 

He felt a gentle hand ease him into the seat beside him and rub his shoulders. “Well, it's no trouble at all, dear. We may have just met, but I can't tell by your eyes that you're a kind person. I trust you..” His mo- Maddie said, with a small smile sent his way. 

 

“We both trust yah, Danny-boy whether you're Vladdie’s son or not!” Jack boomed from the other side of the table, his large hands slamming themselves down onto it.

 

‘Oh, GOOD.’  Phantom thought dryly. ‘This is going to make it that much harder to kill them in the end.’ He felt a nervous lump rise in his throat, but he quickly swallowed it back down. “Thank you for trusting me. But...May I ask why? I mean, you know so little about me.” He feigned timidness and glanced at the large man.

 

“ You're the first person to take any interest in our work, Danny-boy!  That makes us like you more than we like other people!” Jack beamed around a mouthful of his food. 

 

“Jack, please.” Maddie scolded her husband gently. “What we mean to say, Danny, is that  for the longest time, people would always ridicule our work, our PROFESSION. They still do.  They felt that as long as hunters were around, the supernatural occurrences wouldn't stop. So many dislike us, fear us even. It is sad to think that a town that once idealized the hunters that protected them, would come to despise them.” 

 

Danny looked between the two, noting that the smile had slipped off Jack's face and was now replaced with a frown. He, for some reason, felt pity towards these two hunters. Their own town, one that their family's must have protected for centuries, turned on them. Completely shunning them out of the light of society and forcing them to keep their practices secret from the world. 

 

Most humans were still left in the dark, it seemed. 

 

Danny felt his insides twist for two different reasons: one because he was currently in a town oblivious to the thoughts of paranormal. Two, because he was going to be the one to put these hunters back in the light. At least, for a little while. 

 

Still, he couldn't stop the thread of pity that wound its way into him from the thought of, at some point, having to kill these hunters. 

 

He knew it was because they reminded him of his former parents. He thanked his lucky stars that Jazmine wasn't here to jump on his nerves like the little demon she was. 

 

He felt his eye twitch from where his thoughts were going and instantly snapped out of it to speak with the others. “Your own town...turned on you? But, you have done nothing but protect them..Why would they do something like that?” He asked slowly, actually curious.

 

Maddie looked up from her plate and her eyes shown a sadness that Phantom himself wasn't a stranger to. “Because people fear what they don't understand, Danny..”

 

He felt himself abruptly stand from his seat and look between the both of them. “But, WHY? Why would a town LITTERED with supernatural lore turn on the hunters that protect it?! It's ridiculous!” He felt his anger bubble up and quickly dissipate when Jack started to smile at him. 

 

“Ahah! Danny-boy, your guess is as good as ours. You seem just as passionate as we are about Amity’s past. Maybe…” He tapped his chin in thought,. “Maybe you can be our apprentice!” The older man exclaimed excitedly, standing from his seat as well. 

 

“Jack, no. We can't-” But his wife was instantly interrupted by her overexcited husband, who immediately shouted over her.  

 

“Nonsense, Mads! He's interested in our work, that's never happened before! We need to teach him the dangers of witches and teach him to defend himself and others from them.”

 

Danny briefly thought that he'd never heard Jack, even as his father, sound so serious before. 

 

“Plus we get to show him our cool stuff!” 

 

He instantly took his thoughts back and felt the smallest form of a smile twitch at his lips.

 

WwwWWWwwW

 

It had been three hours since the hunters had led Danny into the basement, he felt it was around eight o'clock by now. His time was quickly dwindling into the single digits now. Only around nine hours left until he turned into nothingness. 

 

He quickly gulped down his fear and looked at the hunters with a small smile. They had shown him all sorts of gadgets that had ultimately puzzled him. Wicken blasters, vampire stake-shooters, werewolf repellent, and most importantly, witch extractors. Oh, many apologies. The Witch-Extracto 5000. He had no idea why the number and lack of ‘r’ had anything to do with the actual machine, and he briefly noted to get some of that werewolf repellent. 

 

But what currently occupied his interest was what the two hunters were furiously whisper arguing about in the corner that had Jack flinging his arms around until they settled into a pleading motion. His wife rolled her eyes and huffed before giving a small nod of her head, giving in. 

 

Her husband immediately hugged her close, many cries of ‘Thank You’ s were heard until the male hunter bounded for, what looked like a closet, and pulled out a rather intricate box and made his way over to Danny. 

 

Phantom eyed the box wearily, having some minor trust issues from the object that was off from plain sight. He visibly narrowed his eyes at the box as Jack talked eagerly about what it was about, and how excited he was to show him what was in it. He wasn't listening, of course, but he felt his artificial heart pound heavily against his chest when the man swiftly pulled off the lid and reached inside the box. 

 

His book. It was his spell book. 

 

  1. MIGHTY. CURSES. HIS BOOK.



  
  


Phantom's head was shooting off thoughts like crazy and he half opted to take the book and go all cooky nut walls on the two before completing his overall task. But, he restrained himself and went for openly gaping at the bound spell book in the brute’s hands, wishing with all his might that he could somehow take, or just TOUCH his precious book that he hadn't held in centuries.

 

“This, my boy, is the legendary Phantom's spell book. It has been passed down from hunter to hunter in the Fenton family until it made its way to me. “  The older man explained proudly, holding up the bejeweled book up with one large hand, while Phantom practically drooled in anticipation. 

 

‘Jeez!’ Phantom thought irritably to himself. ‘I already know this crud! It's MY BLOODY BOOK. I don't need to know the story of your family, human. Give me back my book!’ He eyed the book like it was a four course meal and bit his lip in want, no, NEED. The need to touch the leathery exterior and feel the smoothness of the pages within.  

 

He felt his hand twitch as Jack continued to babble on and on about his family tree and occasionally Maddie's. ‘Give it back. It's mine. ‘ He felt his inner most  desires make their way to his surface and try to overtake his conscious.  He let a hand slowly reach out for it, his body betraying his mind. 

 

He froze when Jack stopped talking to look at him with a curious look, seeing his arm outstretched towards the bound book. With a nervous gulp, Phantom sucked up the last of his pride and tilted his head at his reincarnated father. “M-May I….hold it?” 

 

Maddie immediately intervened, putting herself at Jack's side and looking up at him. “Jack, I don't think this is such a good idea.. I mean, we still don't know much about this book. What if it hurts him?”  She murmured worriedly to her husband. 

 

“It won't. “ Danny said bluntly, forgetting who he was talking to and looked to Jack again. His dignity all but obliterated. “Please… May I?” He felt his hand twitch from excitement and hope.

 

Jack looked a bit conflicted between his ‘apprentice’ and his wife. He looked at the book in his hands and furrowed his brow at it. This book had reacted when he had opened it up, what if it did the same to the boy? Maddie said a bright light had shot up into the air and they had yet to investigate. They were going to after dinner, but the Danny had shown up and Jack was more than happy to re-arrange his plans for the boy interested in a hunter's line of work. 

 

But, Maddie was right. They knew nothing of the book or it's powers,, Jack had proven that mere hours before with his meltdown. He couldn't in his right mind give it to a young lad who had little to no knowledge on it or witches to begin with. Maddie was definitely right on this one, it could seriously hurt the boy.

 

“No. No, sorry, Danny. But this book is dangerous, it was Phantom’s after all. I can't have you getting hurt from it.” The older man said sternly, showing no argument would change his mind on the matter. “Maybe one day, alright?”

 

Phantom felt himself deflate. But..But it was HIS book. He was Phantom! HECOULDNTEVENTOUCHHISOWNBLOODYBOOK?!

His slowly put his arm back down, ignoring the protests of his mind and bowed his head, using the shadows from his bangs to hide his furiously glowing green eyes, and nodded his head at the hunter.  “I...I understand.” He said lowly.

 

“Now I KNOW you're disappointed, Danny-boy, but I've got a surprise for you!” Jack said, deciding to cheer the young teen up. 

 

Phantom quickly looked up, making sure to hide his eye color, and stared up at the man curiously. “A surprise? What is it?” He asked. Seriously, what could be a better surprise than getting back his book?! Oh, if Plasmius ever found out how to use it as he, himself had.. Goodbye humanity. 

 

Jack patted his back roughly, making the boy wince, and laughed loudly. “ We're going to go investigate a paranormal occurrence that happened a little while ago! Actually..” The man tapped his chin, seemingly in deep thought, but Phantom knew that was a lie. “Shortly before you got here, Danny-boy. Aren't you excited??” He eagerly hugged the boy to his side, nearly crushing him.

 

Phantom mentally cursed at his luck. He gets to investigate his own bloody revival site?! He pushed himself away from the man all but breaking his bones and forced a smile. “Sounds great. Can't wait, so when do we leave then?” He asked faking interest.

 

“Right now! Come on you two, let's get going! Time to investigate the supernatural!” The man boomed and practically bolted out the door, leaving him and Maddie in the basement to literally eat his dust. 

 

He felt eyes on his and he turned to see Maddie staring at him a bit suspiciously. Crud, now what? What'd he do? He felt himself grow more nervous as she walked towards him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Her tight smile gave Phantom an uneasy feeling.

 

“Before we go, dear… How'd you get those bruises on your neck?” She asked in a motherly ‘I’ll kill you if you don't answer me’ way and tightened her grip on his shoulder.

 

No. DAMN. NO. WHAT Can he say?? ‘Oh, don't worry about it, Maddie. It's just where your husband's ancestor hanged me around four hundred years ago. Hah, crazy isn't it? Oh, by the way, before i forget, i'm the witch Phantom and that book your husband was holding is mine. Could I please have it back? Is that a gun? Well, I think it's about time for me to go... ’  Yup, there’d be no raised eyebrows from that story. He felt a small bead of sweat roll down his face Maddie raised an eyebrow in question.

 

“U-Uhm… Yeah, it's from… Yup. I-” 

 

“Come on you two! I'm going to wait out in the R.V!” Jack bellowed from the living room upstairs, effectively giving Phantom a chance to escape the corner he'd found himself in. 

 

With a lopsided grin, Phantom bounded up the stairs after the older man, ignoring the indignant shouts from his mother downstairs as she chased up after him. 

 

He got into the R.V, trying to ignore that his instincts were telling him to run AWAY from said vehicle, and waited for Maddie who came shortly after, giving Danny a small unnoticeable look. That look screamed ‘I’m not dropping this.’ Great. First Sam, now Maddie.

 

He heard a loud noise, and the vehicle jutted to life, freaking him out silently in the back. Then the made their terrifying descent down the road, Danny nearly breaking the plastic of the safety handle in his vice grip. 

 

“Whooo! Who's ready to expose the paranormal?!” Jack's voice boomed cheerfully over the teen’s frightened shouts, to which, were ignored by the two hunters as they sped down the streets at ungodly speeds.

 

‘WHAT IS MY LIFE NOW- OH MY GRACIOUS THEY JUST KILLED A SQUIRREL!’ That about summed up Phantom’s thought process of the situation. 

  
  


WwwwWwwwW

 

So, what do you think? Phantom's having some inner conflicts regarding Maddie and Jack being the reincarnations of his parents. 

 

He keeps slipping into spells of “mother and father” and then “DAMN, NO THEY'RE NOT MY PARENTS.”

  
  


Hah, anyway. 

 

CAN'T WAIT FOR NEXT CHAPTER, GUYS! STUFF  GETS REALLLLLL!

 

Until next time! -ShadTastic

 


	6. Pressure Head Splitting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phantom tags along to his own grave, confronts the town realising something dire right before he's put in his place.

CH.6: A Town Lost in the Dark.

Amity Park 8:07pm   
10 hours until dawn

WwwwWWwwwW

The town was bustling with excitement. Most were getting ready by adorning their costumes, while others were already waiting at the festival gates eagerly hoping to catch a glimpse of this year's entertainment.

Many were waiting for the clock to strike nine and the festivities to begin. It was celebrated throughout the whole town. Not just as Halloween, but the story the town has to accompany this night.

While other places celebrated All Hallows Eve with ghosts and ghouls, Amity Park celebrates its famed witches. A Salem deal, of sorts. But, if you asked anyone from Amity they would say Amity’s witches were more treacherous. 

Because they had the ‘Phantom.’

In fact, most costumes tonight would consist of Phantom. Maybe even some of the ‘Red Devil’ that was said to lurk in the forest with him. Nevertheless, the town was ecstatic.

There was only a slight chance of rain, the temperature moderate, as the townsfolk waited. 

One more hour. As seen by the bell tower in the middle of the square.

WwwwWWwwwW

To say Danny was bored would be an understatement. Here he was, one of the most renowned witches in the whole world, investigating his own bloody grave site with a couple of idiotic hunters. He felt one of his eyes twitch as he caught sight of the time on a clock made into a lit street lamp. 

‘Great. This is fun.’ Danny rolled his eyes as they followed the-HIS dirt trail until the came upon his grave. 

Maddie gasped and pointed, the flashlight in her hand illuminating the ripped grass and dirt lumps he had crawled through. “Jack! Jack, look at this!”

“Mads, it looks as if… “ Jack trailed off, looking down the hole, seeing the claw marks that scaled themselves all the way to the top. He felt himself be a bit unnerved from the sight as an involuntary shiver made its way up his spine. 

Danny eyes the hole as well, knowing that in a few hours he'd be as good as the dirt he'd crawled himself out of. He grimaced and let out a puff of air, irritated at his predicament. 

“It looks like someone was buried alive..” Jack finally said, and Danny couldn't help but roll his eyes at the man's stupidity. 

That made an idea click in the young witch's head. If he helped them learn more of his resurrection it may actually help steer them away from his ‘alter ego’ along with it. 

Plus, it could help this bloody investigation be over quicker, and Phantom was all for that at this point.

“No.” Danny said bluntly, drawing both hunter's attention as he walked CAREFULLY over to the hole and crouched down beside it and motioned to the marks. “See the scratches? While, it IS true that myths say back in the 1600’s most doctors would pronounce a patient dead when in fact the were alive, ineffectively trying to claw themselves out of the coffin they were unrightfully put in, these aren't the same. No, this was from someone that was buried a long time ago. This wasn't from when they would use the bells to alert the gravekeeper. Look at the coffin.” With a swift motion, Danny pointed to the wooden coffin that had given him wicked splinters when he forced himself out of it.

The other two immediately turned to look at the coffin they hadn't noticed sitting off by the crooked tree before. There were more evident and frantic claw marks on the inside of the lid, a little bit of blood stained here and there as well. 

It was old, for sure, the couple noted, just by the way it looked and was made. Just as Danny had said, there was no string for the person to pull if they were indeed alive. Whoever in fact WAS buried here, they definitely didn't want them getting back out. Jack hauled the heavy lid over into the flashlight’s view and carefully wiped off the dirt with his gloved hands. 

“It says… ‘Phantom-1645’... So, it's true.” Jack whispered, his voice filled with dread as he looked to his wife with wide eyes. “Maddie, ..Phantom.. This is Phantom's coffin.”

Maddie, however, looked skeptical at the revelation. Her nose scrunched up and she shook her head at her significant other. “I don't think so, Jack. I mean, if Phantom was such a feared monster back with our ancestors, then WHY was he buried instead of burned like all the others were? It makes no sense.” She crossed her small arms across her chest and frowned at the hole. 

“But, Maddie… the light beam. Remember? Then there's this hole, with dirt that looks hundreds of years old. How can we explain that?” He still looked a bit shaken at the lid in front of him. Phantom mouthed “light beam” to himself when he was sure the hunters were preoccupied. 

“I’m not ruling out the possibility, I'm just saying it doesn't seem likely, if the legends are true, that the town would give a burial to someone that drained the entire town's next generation. “ She looked back over at the hole and leaned over a bit further to see the bottom. “Plus, where would Phantom be if he came back? He certainly would have no idea of any of this time periods society. He'd stick out like a sore thumb now, don't you think we would have seen or heard something by now?”

This woman clearly underestimated Phantom's intellect and adaptability. He felt insulted that she would even think that he would be stupid enough to not try and camouflage himself to fit in better. The woman was an idiot herself, and he could feel the nagging sensation that messed with his head for even thinking it. He'd also seen at least a dozen or so people dressed up AS him in this bloody town so how the hell would she know who was who?

He felt his hand twitch at his side and clench in anger. Just one push and she'd be stuck in his prison of nearly four hundred years.

One.

Push.

Phantom's eyes flashed a bright iridescent green in his anger as he struggled not to dropkick this hunter into his grave. Thankfully, the large hunter's voice drew him out of his rage with a start.

Jack, himself though, looked down in thought, nodding his head at what his wife had said, almost appearing disappointed to Danny. “Okay, Mads. I guess we could pass this off as a fake. It IS bit of a stretch to say this is Phantom's, and you're right. Why WOULD our ancestors bury a witch instead of burning the body… Let alone how pristine condition everything is in. Seems almost planted now that I think on it.”

‘Because you were a better man than that Jackson.’ Phantom found himself thinking in response. ‘And possibly because I looked similar to how I was when I was your son.’ He WAS one of the more humanistic witches out there. What, everyone thought witches looked like humans? Look at Plasmius, he looks like a vampire, or rather, the human personification of a vampire. 

Maddie smiled at her husband, a short and sweet gesture enough to cheer him up a bit. She walked over and gave him a pat on his back. “Jack. This could still BE Phantom. I'm not saying it's not. All I'm trying to do is make sure you don't get your hopes up thinking it is..”

“He IS supposed to come back tonight.” Danny felt himself saying from the other side of the grave. 

He let out a nervous cough when both hunters turned to look at him. “Well, what I mean is… According to the folklore of Amity… It said Phantom chanted a spell right before he ...you know keeled over. “ He shrugged a bit at the end, hoping that was the right terminology for the situation. 

“Oh, really?” Maddie narrowed her eyes in suspicion at the teen across from her. “And how would you know that, being new to town?”

“Sam and Tucker told me of it before my visit with you.” He stated quickly. Not technically a lie, but not necessarily the truth either. He felt a bead of sweat slide down from his forehead from the intensity of the woman's glare.

She seemed to not buy the explanation but relented in questioning him further in favor of looking at her husband's reaction. 

“He’s right, Maddie! Remember? Phantom told all of Amity that night that he'd be back on All Hallows Eve of 2016 to reap the souls of those that had killed him! And tonight's the night!” Jack practically shook from his excitement, making both Danny and Maddie raise a brow at the man. 

‘So excited about the night he's going to die.’ Phantom thought dryly. ‘What a idiot.’

“I know what day it is, Jack. I just don't believe Phantom meant what he said.” She said with a sigh. 

Jack's smile slipped off his face as he turned to look at his wife. “This isn't going to be like the Christmas thing, is it?” He asked softly.

“No, no. Nothing like that. But, think of it this way.. On one hand, Phantom could have come back tonight and is planning on draining the town again..” She started.

‘Damn right’ Phantom thought smugly.

“-But on the other, he could have been using a human’s susception to paranoia and fear to keep us fearful these past four hundred years. A way to..keep us in line, I'd reckon.” She tapped her chin in thought then shrugged at her husband. “Either one of us could be right about what's happening. We just have to wait and see what happens later in tonight.”

At the eager nod of her husband's head, Maddie sat up from crouching with a small grunt and stretched.”Alrighty, it's been about half an hour since we left the house, what'd you say we all head down to the tower and wait for the show to start?” She looked over and gave a small smile to Danny.

Show? Oh, that's right. That thing Sam and Tucker were speaking of so excitedly. Well, great. Maybe he can slip away at some point so he can finally ‘officially’ announce his coming to the town. 

“Sounds wonderful. “ Danny said as casually as a boy from the 1600’s could and shrugged his shoulders for added effect. 

Maddie's smile grew slightly larger from his answer and she quickly ushered them back inside the R.V, much to Danny's dismay. “Well, we gotta get going if we want to nab a good spot! It gets crowded SUPER quickly there. After all..” She leaned in and looked back at Danny with unreadable eyes. “-this festival only happens once every year~!” 

With her uncharacteristically silent husband at the wheel, Maddie was nearly jumping in her seat with excitement. Danny could hear her small ‘i'm so excited” and her ‘I can't wait for you to see it’. Needless to say, Danny knew the woman was absolutely ecstatic to show him the annual celebration for their hometown.

He was sure he was going to ‘like’ it just as much as everyone else will. Cue evil rant here. Cough. Cough.

It didn't take them very long at all to arrive at the gates. By now, all of the town was lined up out in front, waiting for the next ten minutes for them to open.

One man pointed up at a another gentleman on the other side of the locked gate. “Are we getting in early this year?!”

At which the man replied unlocking the gate. “Yeh, you guys are lucky, Ember’s already done setting up and ready to go. Looks like today's your lucky day, folks of Amity Park. Come in already. “ He quickly moved himself out of harm's way as the the citizens of the bustled their way in.

 

And it was at this point that Danny knew he had to get away from the hunter couple. The perfect chance to slip away and revert back to his true identity. 

He only has one shot at this. 

While everyone was shoving and pushing their way in, including Jack and Maddie, he slipped away with the crowd and went into a small secluded spot, another small alleyway to change back to normal. He sighed softly in relief when he felt the spell melt off of his form, his black hair turning white, his blue eyes back to their electric green.

Phantom stretched his slender limbs in an effort to prepare himself for the chaos that was blind to occur soon. He wrapped his cloak around his body a little more and disappeared with a hesitant grunt.

He almost felt like a performer himself with all this clothing. 

Back with the Fenton's, Jack was eagerly holding his wife's hand, bouncing up and down while they waited the next five minutes for the bell tower to signify the start of the festival. 

“Mads, Danny! This is going to be great! First time Danny sees the festival and we get in early! What luck, huh, Danny?” Jack looked around his wife, searching for the small teen, seeming extremely confused when he saw he was nowhere in sight. “Danny-boy? Where'd he go, Maddie? He's not here..” Jack trailed off, peering down at his wife with concern.

“Jack, I'm sure he's fine. It's not like he'll be in danger here. It's a nice town.” She assured her husband gently, placing a small hand onto Jack's broad shoulder.

“But, he's new to town! He could get lost, or a ghost could snatch him up, or a vampire could make him their midnight snack! Or a witch-”

Maddie quickly interrupted her husband, going as far as bringing his face closer to her own. “Jack, he's FINE. It's not even midnight.” 

“Yeah, but a witch could-”

“Danny can handle himself. I can tell by his posture, he's a strong fighter. He’ll be okay on his own for a little while, okay? We're not his parents.” She said softly, her gaze shifting to the stage as the performer walked up to the stage early.

A girl with dyed, bright, blue hair and a ton of makeup eagerly took the mic. Her purple lipstick contrasting nicely to her white teeth as she grinned. 

“HELLO, AMITY PARK!” She shoved a fist into the air. “WHO’S READY FOR SOME KILLER MUSIC?!” The crowd erupted into loud cheers making her nod her head in agreement. “Alright then. READY TO GO. “ She gave the signal to the people in the bell tower so they could set up the ‘surprise’ by the time the bell told nine.

“Before we begin, I'd like to say what an honor it is to be here with you guys on such an important night, not so much the rest of the world, but here in Amity Park, on this night, we rid ourselves of the witches that stole our children away from us! Yeah! Ahem, anyway, it was because of his death that we celebrate on this day, and I see MANY Phantom look alikes in the crowd tonight, but I have to say, the that I'm bringing up on stage is better. Come on up, kid!” She exclaimed much to the excited crowds eagerness.

A kid, large and bulky showed up, his hair had been sprayed white, red contacts placed in while black underlined his eyes, giving him a more ‘vampire’ look to him. His old batman cape was tied around his body, obviously too small for his large build. 

He swiftly grabbed the mic and with a fan boyish shout he pumped his fist into the air. “Yeah! How's it going, Amity?! It's me, Phantom! Here to suck the life out of you all…WITH SONG!” 

Cue the real Phantom appearing up above and rolling his eyes in disgust. “Something about that boy is familiar. No matter…” He whispered so as not to alert the townsfolk just yet. So he floated there, the wind giving his cloak a good wave, making him look even more ‘mysterious ‘ as Vlad had called it many times.

He scowled at the memory and floated closer to the crowd a bit, listening to the boy talk.

“Now, WHO'S READY FOR PHANTOM ROCK?!” The Phantom imposter cheered, along with most of Amity and Phantom waited until it died down before waving his hand and melting all their instruments. He didn't care much for music, certainly not this “newer” kind he'd already been exposed to by Tucker.

The audience gasped in surprise while the band members shouted in disgust and wiped at the goop that was once their instruments.

“I surely hope you don't intend to sing, Phantom. “ The real Phantom jeered, smirking at the ones on stage while the citizens all turned and looked at the figure floating above them in alarm. 

Ember sneered and grabbed the remaining mic and motioned to him. “Who the hell are you supposed to be? Casper?” She smirked when a few audience members chuckled. 

Phantom had no idea who Casper was but he assumed it was s type of ghoul and rolled his luminous green eyes at the rock star. “Not quite. You see, I'm Phantom, most powerful witch in existence. And you are?” He grinned at them, using a clawed hand to motion to them all.

“Hah, yeah, and I'm Carrie. “ A few more giggles. “But, look little guy, we already got a Phantom, See?” She lazily pointed to the wannabe beside her. 

Did this girl seriously not question how he was floating mid air as easily as he could stand on land?

“Yeah, I'm Phantom! Got it, nerd?!” The bulky teen stated snottily, making Phantom narrow his eyes at him dangerously. 

“I see that.” He stated lowly.

In an instant the witch was floating directly in front of the boy, startling everyone present. He leaned in close to the boy's face, intimidatingly. He smirked when he saw the larger teen gulp. 

“Unfortunately, I see some …’problems’ with your costume.” He tilted his head to the side and grabbed the Batman cape’s string and pulled him closer still. 

Maddie pulled on Jack's sleeve, who seemed transfixed on what was happening. “Jack, you don't think..” She started, looking between the stage and her husband.

“It is. Maddie get the gun. “ He briefly glanced down when his wife stood there. “The gun underneath the bottom left seat, go!” He ushered her with a small, desperate shove with his large hand. 

When she took off, Jack eyed the teen worriedly. He didn't like the looks of this. His expression torn between dread and fear, with a hint of determination.   
“Your eyes are incorrect. Do my eyes appear red to you? Secondly, you're WAY too big to attempt to portray me. And lastly….” He tightly held onto the front of the teen’s shirt and grit his teeth in anger. “..your cape is useless. See, I use my cloak to help catch the wind when I fly. The most yours does..is make you turn into a human pancake!”

With strength that seemed unnatural to a boy his size, Phantom hurled the larger over his head and into the air, the sounds of the boy's frightened screams and the alarmed audience members echoed into the night sky. Luckily, the crowd was able to catch the teen before his face met asphalt. 

“I WILL NOT tolerate this nonsense! Do you not know power when you see it?! Using a weak teenager to try and live up to my legacy, MY NAME, hah! “ Phantom floated back up into the air, cackling madly all the way, scaring that many more of the townsfolk. 

Many tried to escape, running to the gates in a massive, panicked, horde. But, the witch waved his hand at the gates, slamming them shut with a bone shattering force. In fact, one man let out a blood curdling scream when his hand was caught in between the doors. 

 

Jack instantly thought fearfully of his wife, whom he had sent to the R.V to get the gun. Using his size, he made his way through the crowd, yelling for his wife all the while. Feeling the tingling feeling on the back of his neck, he knew that Phantom was watching him.

Eyeing him like a predator would its prey. 

The hunter shivered a bit at the thought and ran up to the gate and slammed his hands on it. Only to be knocked back by a strong wave of magic that threw him back into a wall, making him spit up just a bit of blood. 

“No one leaves~” The witch sung smugly. “I've been waiting quite a long time for my dinner.” He winked at the hunter and was about to continue talking when the clock strikes nine and a loud bell tolled from behind Phantom, making him cover his ears with a loud groan. 

He grunted out a few curses and removed his hands, now more irritated than playful. “What a nuisance that bell tower has always been to me. I think it's time for a little intervention…” His hands crackled with energy and he struck the tower with it, laughing as it immediately began to crumble, the bell letting out a few more rings before getting crushed under the weight of the rubble. The last thing that was heard was a man's shout before everything was silent once more. 

Ember looked heartbroken as she spoke into the mic in her ear. “Skulky?? Skulker, come on, baby, are you there?!” She frantically spoke into the mic, until Phantom's loud voice startled her out of her panic.

By now, Phantom noted, the citizens began to scream their heads off in distress, some crying others trying desperately to get out through the gates but were instantly thrown back just like Jack. 

The witch felt his temper rise in the realization that they weren't paying attention to him anymore. “ENOUGH.” He commanded, his voice impossibly loud, it shook the remaining building inside the small, closed off pavilion. 

“Don’t you understand the situation you are all in?! Your lives are in MY hands. MY mercy, yes? SO STOP IGNORING ME. “ He felt his voice yell along with other voices that yelled along with him. He clenched his fists at his sides and shook in anger. 

“You people know NOTHING of the things I could do to you this very moment! I can send each and everyone of you into the deepest, hottest parts of hell, yet you STILL act like such startled cattle?!” He shot a blast of hot, energy into the crowd, the people screaming and most made it out unscathed. 

The teenager felt his mind grow a bit hazy when he caught sight of that bright orange jumpsuit, holding himself up against the wall, panting and watching him.

“You’re wrong, Phantom. I k-know for a fact you can't do your more p-powerful spells without your spell book. “ The hunter grunted at the end and wiped his bloodstained mouth, glaring at the witch with as much hatred he could muster.

Phantom looked like he had just gotten a new puppy and grinned, giddy to be reminded of his precious book. 

“True, true. I cannot perform my most powerful spells without my book…” He trailed off, looking off in the direction of the Fenton household and then smirked. 

He brought a hand up to his mouth and let out the most ear-piercing whistle that made everyone cover their ears with a few groans. 

“Come one, yessss, THERE you are. Aww, come here, sweetheart!” Phantom seemed to coo out of nowhere until a book came into the view of everyone and floated right over into Phantom's arms, who hugged it close, snuggling it, happily.

“...A book, which I just so happen to have right here! GWAHHAHAHA! “ The witch laughed, appearing insane as the book he held glowed a greenish tint, magnifying Phantom's power by the thousands. Everyone briefly turned to glower at the hunter for reminding the witch of his book.

He heard a clicking sound and peered down at a few security guards that were pointing their handguns at him. He shook his head and looked at them, mockingly. “Now, now. What would you fine gentlemen be doing with those?”

“Phantom! Uh… You're under arrest!” The middle one stated, though it seemed more like a question at the end due to his fear. 

Said witch narrowed his eyes at the men and held up a single finger. He began to flip through the pages of his book, making small noises of concentration before he grinned and let out a small ‘ahah!’ 

“Warriors of the night, bent on the destruction of most impure. For you a small ballad. “

The teenager cleared his throat and his eyes began glowing a neon green as he began singing. 

“Loosen your straps, take a bow, the war's over, no need to fight now. Days turned into nights, weeks into months. “

“Your mind wanders into a realm you are unfamiliar to, slowly the centipede of righteous black crawls up into your ears and..

“...bites, bites, bites, BITES you in two!” 

At the end of the spell, everyone stood looking around, wondering what exactly was going to happen. When suddenly the four security guards all screamed in sheer agony And clutched at their heads, some clawing at their ears, ripping off pieces of skin. They tugged at their skin, screeching and scratching at their eyes, trying to do anything, anything to stop the pain they were feeling. Centipedes crawled out from all openings of their bodies, ripping more flesh as they went until the guards all fell down to the ground in lifeless heaps. Dead and mangled beyond recognition at this point, the centipedes slither their way out of the corpses and disappear into the ground soon after.

Blood pulled at the feet of those closest to the guards, and the whole of Amity held their breath from the horror they had just witnessed, most stepping back several feet as the blood grew closer to them.

“Now…” Phantom said suddenly, causing everyone's attention to go to him. “Maybe now you'll understand the situation you're in..” Phantom almost seemed freaked out by the bodies that lay below him, though if anyone saw they were too scared to pay attention. 

He heard some small movement in the rubble of the bell tower and turned curiously in the air and leaned forward. 

A man with a bright ,dyed, green mohawke shoveled his way out of the rubble, littered with bruises, and cuts. He let out a groan and wiped the plaster off of his large arms, irritably. 

Ember immediately bounded for the man, not caring that the boy above them could simply flick his wrist and kill her. “Skulker! Ahh! Baby, you're alive!” She wrapped her slender arms around him, ignoring the man’s pained grunt from the action. 

“Em, not now. We gotta a witch to deal with. ‘EY, BUDDY! You don't like loud noises?! Well fire ‘em up, boys, we gotta witch to fry!” He called to somewhere behind him, moving both him and his hysterical girlfriend out of harm's way. 

 

The ‘surprise’ that was meant to go off when the clock struck nine was a series of large fireworks that shoot out of the three decorative cannons. Skulker figured he'd take care of two things with one shot. Was his job to fire them off anyway.

Phantom eyed them more curiously than viciously and tilted his head at the affection shown between the two young adults. Those watching the witch's reaction were just as confused as Phantom seemed. He didn't even hear the possible threat that Skulker had spewed at him until he saw a fire at the end of a canon.

BOOM.

Phantom instantly jumped mid air and covered his head as explosions went off all around him. He seemed like a frightened toddler, the way he seemed to curl in on himself. He vaguely heard the citizens cheering at his misfortune, happy to be evening the odds a bit. 

Who knew Phantom was a little baby when it came to loud noises. Finally they had a weakness to use!

It wasn't until he had the nerve to look at what was making the loud noises all around him that the childlike demeanor instantly diminished, and what was left was the unpredictable witch from before. 

“They...are not hurting..?” He straightened up his posture and hovered around the colorful explosions that Phantom would almost deem beautiful if they hadn't scared the hell out of him first. “They are not real explosions…”

The witch turned to look at the mohawked man and glared sinisterly. He slowly raised one of his hands when the fireworks had stopped and grinned, energy bristling once again at his fingertips.

“Your explosions are alright…” His face twisted into a smirk and he lifted his arm above his head. “..but mine are better.” 

Just as Phantom went to blast the couple onto an oblivion, a gloved hand wrapped around his forearms making the teen gasp in surprise and turn around. “What-”

“I think not. Honestly, Phantom did you REALLY think I'd let you destroy the town I've fed from for centuries? Just look at what you've destroyed just from your little temper tantrum! Tsk, tsk. Not even up a day and already I have to clean up your mess.”

The teen briefly felt his arm being twisted before a sickening CRACK echoed throughout the pavilion, sounded with Phantom's pained scream, making him drop his book down below.

“Oh, hush. It shouldn't even be close to the fire, right, dear boy?” Plasmius smirked when he felt the teen freeze in his arms with fear before struggling once more. Full force.

Hushed cries from the frightened citizens grew louder as shouts of ‘it’s the Red Devil!’ proved to be louder than the rest. 

Plasmius smirked at the nickname before slamming Phantom down into the concrete with a swift kick to his head. “Why don't we give them a good show, little badger?” The older witch laughed, watching in sick satisfaction as the younger plunged into the asphalt, making a large crater.

The citizens screamed at the start of the fight between the two powerful entities, some trying to wake up the unconscious Jack Fenton in hopes that he had a way of protecting them. Others stood as far away from the two as possible without having to touch the still powered gates.

“Nngh…” Phantom raised up, disoriented from the impact and held his head. As quick as he sat up, Plasmius was already hurling him into another building, where he skid on the concrete and rolled until he stopped near his unconscious father with a choked cry escaping his bloody lips. 

“Get up. “ He heard Plasmius command while putting his boot onto his throat and adding pressure. “GET. UP. “ He swiftly kicked the boy's side, grinning when he cried out in pain. 

After a few gasps from the townsfolk and Phantom's wheezing, he sat up, shakily and glared darkly at the older, his book a ways off rumbling the ground a glowing brightly with its owner's anger. 

Plasmius smiled and held up a finger. “Ah. Hold that thought, Phantom. Your punishment can wait for just a moment. “ With a wave of his cape, Plasmius made his way to the book, scaring a few of the citizens that were too close and picked it up, triumphantly. 

He made his way back over to the dry-heaving Phantom and sighed at him, disapprovingly. “Now, Daniel really. You're so careless. Someone could take this book of yours from you. Imagine what would happen if it got into the wrong hands? “ He teased the younger, trying to open the book that refused to budge.

“G-Give it-urk...Give it back!” The teen rasped, nearly throwing up. “It’s mine! YOU'RE THE-, THE ONE WHO TRIED TAKING I-T FROM ME BEF-” The angered witch was cut off by a black booted uppercut to his face, making him bite his tongue off. 

It fell out of his mouth and landed beside them, visible to the gasping people, some even shrieked in fear, while others straight up puked. Especially when the blood began to drizzle out of the boy's mouth and down his quickly bruising chin.

Plasmius grew annoyed of the crowd and with a snap of his fingers, trapped them all in a red dome. “Honestly, you mortals are so annoying. Stay in there while I deal with your misunderstood savior.” He returned his gaze the younger witch and held up the book with a smug look. That is, it was smug until he was instantly slapped in the face with a sharp heat from one of Phantom’s blasts. 

With a grunt of pain, Plasmius gripped at his face, gnashing his teeth together and gave a low growl. When he looked to the younger still panting on the floor he held a sinister look to his eyes. “You've grown rusty from your slumber, Daniel. More of an idiot like your father was.” 

Phantom could only gurgle in response, though he eye's flashed that iridescent green in his anger.

The older witch grinned leaning closer as his eyes rapidly healed. “Oh? What was that, dear boy? I couldn't quite hear you...tongue tied?”

A quick spit from the other witch was all he was given as a mouthful of blood splat across his face. 

Plasmius wiped off the offending liquid with a grunt. “Goodness Daniel. Rusty doesn't even begin to cover it… That didn't even HURT-” He swiftly kicked against the boy’s head, enjoying the thud when his head knocked up against the gate.

 

“-And I think I'll be holding onto this until you can learn to be more responsible..” He waddled the famed book in front of the younger’s dazed face. 

The people of Amity park could only watch in horror at the sudden change of events. The person that they had originally feared was brought down IMMEDIATELY by someone even more powerful. The person they had thought was a folktale more than they thought Phantom was. 

Just then a small, pained groan was heard from beside Phantom as Jack Fenton sat up from the wall and rubbed his head. This caught both of the witch’s attention.

“Ugh..wha...? Maddie..” He looked up groggily and finally noticed the two witches in front of him and the near whole of Amity being encased in a magical bubble. With as much hate as he could muster with all the pain he was feeling he glared at the two. “What have you done?! Let them go you demons!” He snarled at them both, trying to stand up, but failing. 

Plasmius looked over at the hunter with mild interest, before he scowled and brought his foot back onto Phantom's neck, making the boy gag. “Oh, GOOD. It's Jack Fenton, Supernatural extraordinaire!” He sneered sarcastically and put more pressure on the other witch's neck and inspected the book in his hand, completely ignoring the injured, and unarmed hunter beside them. 

“Would you look at that, Daniel...The gem on your spellbook is cracked. “ He flipped over the book and found that a bit of a green mist was flowing out of the crack. “So, THIS was why those men were swarmed with your centipedes…” He smirked down at the younger, who had a firm hold on his boot. “Somehow I knew you wouldn't use your powers to KILL anyone. My goodness, you have so much power wrapped up in this little book, and you don't even use it! Well, I'll be sure to put it to good use once I figure out how to use it.”

“Giv-Give ahh ….guh!!” Phantom glared, showing his fangs to appear as menacing as possible to the older witch, which only succeeded in making the older laugh. His tongue still wasn't completely healed, but the blood had at least died down to small gurgles.

The teen felt a blinding pressure on his windpipe, successfully knocking the air out of him.The last thing he saw was the other witch leaning down with a cruel smirk. 

“Goodnight, Daniel.” 

Phantom blacked out after that.

 

WwwWWwwW

 

SO WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THIS CHAPPE, EH? MAKE YOU HAVE SOME UNANSWERED QUESTIONS?

Probably xD

To be honest, I really don't know how long this story is going to be. As far as lengthwise goes. I know there's going to be at least three more chapters then an epilogue, or two.


	7. A conversion of champions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang nfront Phantom and find out more than they bargained for

CH.7: A Child Without a Home.

 

WwwWWwwW

Phantom's mind had never been a pleasant place. So being subconsciously aware of where he was made him a little distressed. He has secrets, as everyone does, but it was those secrets that made Phantom do the things he did.

The lies. He hated the lies he told.

The feelings he kept locked away.

The undeniable truth was that the boy hated himself. For what he was, what he had become, everything. Everything he is has made him sick, he often feared that he would hate himself more later in life.

With a heart bigger than most, he felt small pieces of his humanity slip away with each soul he was forced to take. He would force the pain of stealing the innocents from a town he had loved, and he would feast on the souls of what he had once called friends. 

He would push back the thoughts of right and wrong in favor of blindly doing what his Master's wishes were. He hated his situation, he hated the monster he had become, but most of all..

He hated the demon that made him like this.

WwwWWwwW

He was somewhat aware of the pressure felt on his neck, hands, and feet. Everything around him was pitch black and he wasn't sure whether or not he was blindfolded. It wouldn't have mattered much anyway, seeing as he was sore as hell and probably wouldn't be trying to find of an escape route regardless of where he was.

Phantom let out a pained groan and pulled ever so slightly on the bindings. He was lying on his back on a cold smooth surface. Maybe a table of sorts. He tried to sit up, but quickly found a binding around his waist constricting him from doing so. 

“ugh, guh…” He tried to complain but found what was left of his tongue was swollen and still very much preventing him speech. He sighed and turned his head to the side and let out an annoyed puff of air, seeing as that's all he could really do at the moment.

“Oh, good. You're awake. You've been out for around two hours. “ A feminine voice said from his left. Immediately, the blindfold was removed from his face and he regained his vision.

It was Maddie and a bruised Jack staring back at him. He looked between the two of them wearily and bit at his lower lip.

This was not good.

“It would have been hard to question you if you remained unconscious. So..” The female hunter quickly shoved a oddly colored dagger at his throat, enough pressure to cut a bit into his skin. She glared hotly at him as her voice raised above normal volume. “-WHERE IS THE REST OF AMITY!”

Caught off guard by the sudden shouting, Phantom leaned back as far as he could from the angered woman. Still unable to talk, the witch settled for shaking his head, confusedly. He had no idea where the citizens were. He hoped he didn't accidentally kill them all when he was unconscious. Unlikely, but not impossible.

“TALK! I KNOW you can!” The dagger dug into his neck a bit more making the teen hiss slightly in pain. 

With an annoyed grunt from the older man, holding an ice pack to his head, Maddie turned around and looked at her husband. 

“He can't talk right now. He bit off his tongue in a fight with the Red Devil.” Jack stated softly, motioning his head to the boy strapped to the table. He let out a hard sigh and he shook his head. “Wouldn't do any good to interrogate him now, anyway. Why would he answer?”

The woman gave a shudder and briefly heard a mutter of ‘disgusting’.

‘Since when had Jack become so serious? Oh, right. Probably when I slammed him into the wall of a building.’ Phantom found himself thinking, irritably.

Probably then.

He felt his eyes narrow when Jack caught his gaze. He felt more angry now that he couldn't defend himself than he had when battling Plasmius. It may or may not be because it was technicality his father who was saying this to him. 

Maddie shifted her gaze back to Phantom and glared once more. “Well, he has the lie detector on. We'll just ask him yes or no questions for now until his tongue heals back up.”

“Like what?” Jack asked, back to his child-like self for a brief moment before wincing and putting a bit more pressure on his bruising cheek.

‘Like what?’ Phantom thought at the same moment as Jack.

Maddie gave a small smile at her husband, and took the knife away from the teen’s neck. “Like…” She looked over at the witch curiously. “-Are you REALLY the famed witch, Phantom?” 

Phantom really didn't feel compelled to answer truthfully and he was rather curious to see what this ‘lie detector’ did, and if it really worked. So he lied. 

He shook his head with a raised eyebrow. He looked down at the device around his neck when it beeped and emitted a red light. It was then that an electric shock went through Phantom's body, making him grit his teeth and swallow down a scream.

Maddie frowned at the teen. “It wouldn't do you any good to lie to us right now, Phantom. Unless you want that to happen again. Now, is it true you intend to kill off everyone in Amity by dawn tomorrow?” She watched both the boy's expression and the device. She was rather interested in the surprised look the boy had on his face from his question.

Phantom felt a small bead of sweat roll down his face. That answer was a bit complicated. It may not seem like, it but Phantom may have been super powered up and insane the night he said it. On one hand, he had meant it then, but on the other he didn't mean it now. 

With a sigh, and a prayer to anyone who listen, Phantom nodded his head, closing his eyes in a bit of fear of the shock that may come after. 

The device beeped once more and Phantom seized a bit, gripping the table with inhuman strength, bending the steel underneath his fingers. He let out a small, pained gasp and opened his eyes when it was over, looking over at the two hunters who currently had him held captive. 

Maddie looked a bit confused, as did Jack. They both looked between one another before looking back at Phantom. 

“That can't be right…” She said slowly. “I'm going to ask that question again. Answer honestly, or else.” She threatened a bit, looking unsure of herself. “Are you REALLY here to kill all of Amity?”

Phantom hesitated, looking anywhere but at the hunters and let out a grunt. He closed his eyes tightly and shook his head, hoping the machine wasn't really malfunctioning and would accept his answer. At least, he really REALLY hoped so. 

When no shock emitted from the device, Phantom opened an eye, and looked at the two confused hunters beside him. 

“Phantom, there's no...way..” Maddie stared, completely out of it at the wall, holding a hand on her mouth in thought. 

At that moment, Jack walked over and slammed his hands down onto the metal table, glaring at the teen with as much anger as he could muster with his banged up face. “Now, you see here, Phantom, my wife asked you a question. That means you answer honestly, and DARNIT we've tried being nice!” He quickly grabbed the dagger his wife had previously and pressed it against Phantom's throat again. “Now, WHERE IS THE REST OF AMITY?! HUH?! TELL ME, YOU STUPID, VILE-”

“Jack Fenton, you calm down THIS instant!” The female hunter turned on her husband, taking the knife out of the other's hand and looked down at Phantom on the table. “I just checked that device before we used it on him, hun. There's no way it's broken.” She shook her head with a small sigh and placed a hand on her husband's shoulder. “He’s telling the truth. Otherwise the machine would've given him a shock. “

Jack looked almost offended. “But, he's a-”

“Never mind what he is, Jack. This is the first witch we've come across personally. Our ancestors killed thousands of accused witches. They killed even ones who may have been human. We can't say he's lying simply because of what he is. No matter how evil, or manipulative a witch may be… The device will know if he's lying...and he wasn't.” Maddie peered up at her husband, as if daring him to say anything else on the matter. 

Jack pouted at his wife, his broad shoulders sagging. Since when did his wife get so sensitive?

She smiled fondly when he gave a defeated sigh and backed a few feet away from the table. “Alright then. How about some more questions, Phantom?” At the teen’s surprised look, she gave a small, playful glare his way. “You didn't think we were done did you?”

The boy let out a puff of air and sighed at the comment, defeated. He looked over at the two hunters, who were currently staring at him. He shifted uneasily in the hold of the bands wrapped around his body, he looked between the hunters and the wall beside him, wondering why they continued to stare at him.

He attempted the slide his tongue over his teeth and found that it successfully touched, he could probably talk now. If, only slightly.

“W-Wha.. ?” He started, only to fumble with the ‘T’ at the end, with a huff, he pouted, looking back at the couple with a raised eyebrow.

Maddie grinned at his word and clapped once. “Good! Looks like you can talk a bit now. Excellent!” She excitedly looked at her husband, who seemed a bit more hesitant about the fact than she did. “Now, why don't you answer Jack's question now? Where is the rest of Amity? Where have you taken them?”

Phantom raised an annoyed brow from the question, his eyes showing confusion. “Wha..? They are…” He started, but swallowed thickly when he realized how dry his throat was. 

“They’re gone. Disappeared. They all disappeared once you conked out and your ‘friend’ left. “ The older man peered down at the smaller teen with an unreadable expression. His large arms were crossed over his chest, in a lingering pose of confidence.

The witch visibly cringed at the term ‘friend’ and made it a point to shy away from the older man beside him. He could feel the anger make his cheeks burn and his teeth clenched uncomfortably hard together. “He’s not my...friend. He's more of an enemy.”

The hunters looked down at the lie detector as the green light remained emitting. Even though the witch didn't answer the question, he wasn't lying.

“An enemy? But why-” Maddie started, but was cut off by Phantom subconsciously looking down at his arms with a troubled expression. “Phantom. Phantom, look at us. Phantom…”

The boy continued to stare as if he hadn't heard them.

Just as the two hunters were going to begin shaking the teen, he let out a small, near inaudible whisper, that they had to strain to hear. 

“I used to have a family…you know.” 

The older woman looked at her husband, stunned a bit, then turned back to Phantom a bit apprehensive. “Ph-Phantom, what-”

“He took me away from them…” The boy whispered again, a bit louder this time. His eyes dilated, his arms lifting as far as the bindings would allow him to do so. 

Maddie quickly noticed the increasing anger coming from the witch, and the strength from the bonds beginning to bend. “Jack…”

“He took… EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME!” 

Maddie's eyes widened in a bit of fear, and she looked back at her husband with a look of ‘please help.’ “ Jack,... Jack, grab the injection..” 

She watched as her husband went off somewhere behind her, shuffling for the needle containing the medicine to calm Phantom down.

The bindings holding the teen back creaked under the witch's strength until finally they released their hold on him. His hands flew to the female's forearms and clenched his claws into her skin, ignoring her scream in fright in favor of connecting his forehead with hers. 

His voice became layered with other voices as the hands vice-gripping Maddie flowed an eerie green along with his eyes. The hunter was so in shock that she barely even made a move to pull away.

“Join me, et per oculos meos videre, donec sum contentus.” (See through my eyes until I am satisfied.)

The hunter briefly heard her husband call out her name before she felt her eyes roll to the back of her head and she fell to her knees, kneeling beside the witch. 

Jack jabbed the injection into Phantom's neck, watching as the teen’s eyes drooped and he fell back onto the table, hands and eyes fading back into normalcy while Jack held his wife up against him. 

“Maddie! Mads! Come on! What's wrong?!” He yelled in distress, patting at Maddie's face. 

WwwWWwwW

A young boy, around the age of four walked hand in hand with his father through the woods. His father having just finished his daily work for the day and was now heading home. His son had accompanied him tonight to learn the ways of labor so he would be prepared for the hardships he'd experience later in life. 

Currently, the toddler was once again sitting on his shoulders, a common place for his son to be seen. He looked up at the child and saw him staring up at night sky. Yet another thing for the boy to commonly be seen doing. He seemed to always be off in a daydream. 

The father felt a smile tug at his lips from the sight. “Daniel, what do you say to beef stew tonight?” 

It had the effect he was looking for as it gained the small child's attention, seeing his little face light up in excitement. 

“Oh, REALLY?! We have meats?!” Daniel patted his father's broad shoulders with a small giggle. 

Jackson chuckled at his son's excitement. “Yes, I traded a few heads of cabbage for a rabbit. So, tonight, we shall have meat!” He held up a fist and nearly bursts out laughing from the boy's scrunched up face. 

“Yuck, I don't like cannbages..” The toddler slurred, pulling at his tiny nose. He held his newest coat closer to himself, the cold night air making the small boy shiver. His mom had spent many days working on it for him at the warning of a cold winter. 

“That’s cabbages, my boy, and it’s really all we have. But, you won't have to eat them tonight. Tonight we celebrate! “ The larger man shook with laughter as they made it back into their small village, the full moon being their guide until they reached their small cot and walked inside. 

It was around three hours after that before the house quieted down at the candlelights dimmed, making it appear pitch black inside. 

...and it was around ten minutes after that before a small creak was heard at the front door, and Daniel peeked his head out, looking up at the moon. After a hearty meal like the one he just had that night, he was energised and ready to go outside. 

He had been doing this for a while now, he quickly and quietly got out of the housed and closed the front door. With a sigh, he watched the fog leak out of his mouth from the cold in the night air. 

He walked through the village, careful not to be seen by anyone and walked to the edge of town, into the fields by the forest and laid down onto the ground with his small arms behind his head. He looked up at the night sky, watching the mass of stars twinkle ahead of him, he smiled in happiness, despite the sharp cold sinking into his form. 

Snowflakes fell all around him, sometimes obstructing his view of the stars by landing on his eyelids a cheeks. The toddler would whine in discomfort but otherwise continue to gaze at the sky, silently. 

He suddenly felt a tingling sensation at the back of his neck, making him sit up and turn around. His heart stopped when saw a man, with long white haired pulled back into a ponytail by some horse hair staring back at him. His smile sent shivers down the child's body, worse than any amount of cold weather ever could. 

“Hello, Daniel…” He said slowly, walking a bit closer to the toddler. “My name is Vlad Masters, I am a friend of your fathers.” He walked over to the boy and sat down beside him, ignoring the way he stared.

He turned his head to watch the child, who looked up at him with a mild curiosity. He studied to boy's small features, his dark hair, crystal blue eyes, even his small little nose. 

Plasmius grabbed gently at the boy's chin, the smaller not really reacting much when he squeezed his cheeks.

“Wait… Mister, you knew my fatha?” The toddler suddenly shouted, flinging his small arms out beside him, making the witch raise an eyebrow in amusement. 

“Ah, I KNOW your father, child. But, yes. I have known of him since long before you were born.” He playfully poked the boy's nose, trying to hide the small voice of triumph from the boy's trust when he giggled.

The child rubbed at his nose the pointed at the other, intentionally touching his nose. “Well, how comes I never sees you then?! Huh?? Daddy's never mentioned you, neithers mama!”

Vlad almost smirked. “Oh, I haven't been around much of late. But, I assure you, if your parents were to see me, they'd definitely recognize me.” He patted his lap a bit and watched in glee when the toddler crawled over into his lap on instinct. “Your father and I used to be great friends, you know..”

The boy fell right into the man's trap and looked up at him. “Why did you go away?” He asked softly, his large blue eyes failing to hide his curiosity. He shifted uncomfortably in Vlad's lap when he felt large arms wrap around him. 

The man smiled and patted the boy's small head. “It’s a long story, Daniel. One that you wouldn't understand.” He sighed when the boy pouted up at him.

“I understand lots of stuff! Like my dad’s job choppin wood, my momma's sickness, lots of stuff!” Daniel threw his short arms up into the air and stubbornly. “See? I gots lots of stuff to understand, so I can understand yours too!” The toddler looked up at the older man with an innocent smile that almost made the witch regret what he was about to do. 

Almost. 

“You know, Daniel, there's an old song my aunt used to sing to me when I was...a boy. Tell me, have thou hast heard of ‘Nightingale’, yes?” He patted the boy's thigh with a thoughtful expression. 

Instantly the child's eyes lit up in excitement. “Yes! Yes, I know that one! My mama sung it to me before she got real sick like..” He bounced a bit in the older man's lap. 

The witch grinned, his hands resting at the boy's side began to glow with a dark pink energy, going unnoticed by the child. Absentmindedly, Plasmius spoke to the child. “Could you sing it for me?”

Daniel looked up at the night sky shyly, not wanting to be looked at while he sang and began, watching the fog that escaped his mouth from the cold. 

“Sing...sweet Nightingale..Sing sweet Nightingale..”

Plasmius’ energy began to flow into the child, making his eyes droop from it. The witch noticed Daniel struggling to finish the last verse when the energy coming from his palms glowed brighter.

“Ah Ahh AH AHHH…ah...nnn…” The toddler finished the end of the scale and promptly slumped against the older man's chest, out cold. 

The witch smirked at the child's peaceful expression. He certainly wasn't going to be having many peaceful sleeps after what he was about to do. 

With an annoyed sigh from the added weight he was going to have to carry, Plasmius stood from their shared spot on the grass and clicked his tongue, throwing the boy carelessly over his shoulder. 

“Aperi portae inferni non sunt daemonium ut dicit.” (Open the gates of Hell, so says I, the Demon.)

The ground glowed a bright red from the witch's spell and it caved in on itself, grass, dirt, and other earthly things being sucked down into an unholy precipice Plasmius liked to call “The Entrance to Damnation.” Well, technically it was. He wasn't that creative. 

The older man held the boy tightly against him and jumped into the opening. 

Feeling the heat of the souls of the damned, he fell through the hole until the rocks and spears of the Underworld made themselves known and he landed on the heated rock pillars below. 

Screams echoed throughout the long cave-like open ways surrounding the two. Fire licked away at the walls and at the man's leg making him scowl and hold the boy closer, careful not to drop him. With an annoyed growl ‘Vlad Masters’ shed the human he had taken form in, watching as the flesh melted from the sheer heat of the underground prison. Nothing really new, considering it was Plasmius’ magic that spared the boy's form until he deemed otherwise. 

After all, it wasn't as if the boy was going to keep his mortal form in his plan anyway. 

Plasmius felt the toddler shift in his hold, making a small, almost inaudible whimper. The witch smirked until he reached the endless chasm of unholy fire that towered over the man's form. His cape flowed behind him as he watched the flames continuously destroy mortal souls into an oblivion. 

He shifted Daniel across his arms, supporting him with one arm under the boy's kneecaps, and the other on his back. He looked down at the boy's peaceful sleeping face and with one swift movement of his arms…

...Daniel was thrown into the fire.

*Author's Note* WARNING: Some graphic/gore scene ahead. IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO THESE THEMES. DO NOT READ, SKIP UNTIL YOU SEE THE WWWW’S. It's for your own safety, my children. ***

The first thing Daniel noticed when he was jolted awake was an excruciating pain that emitted from his entire being. He felt like his eyes were popping out of their sockets. His skin felt like boiling water as it slid down his quickly darkening bones. His bones?

Dear God, he could see his bones. 

The boy was young, but he was old enough to know that wasn't supposed to look like that. He was also sure that whatever pain this was wasn't of the place he called home.

He opened his mouth to scream but found his throat already having been burned to the bone. His barely remaining heart beat faster and faster and faster in his melting chest. The toddler’s frightened mindset reflecting barely on his misshapen eye sockets and face. 

‘Daddy, mommy, what's happening!!’ He thought over and over briefly through the pain that was quickly sniffing him out of existence. He felt hands not his own claw their way across his small form, and though his ears and eyes may be gone, he could still hear and see the decrypted forms of those that have been there far longer than him. 

He felt them claw at his face, arms and at his stilling heart. His bones, he noticed were being taken from him. Being carried off away from him, deeper into the fire. 

“You won't be needing those anymore, child.” A wicked soul said close to his hearing cavity. “Give them to us OLDER folk. Our bones aren't what they used to be!”

“Poor child!” Another said from his left. 

“Yes, poor child. All alone and damned in hell like a casted mutt!”

“Cry, cry! It's all you can do now. You're stuck here in the fire the rest of eternity!”

Say it isn't so! Please! Anything but this! HOW DID HE GET HERE- HE COULDN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING THAT HAD HAPPENED BEFORE THE PAIN.

MOTHER. FATHER. PLEASE SAVE HIM FROM THIS ETERNAL PAIN HE HAS FOUND HIMSELF IN.

His entire existence felt like it was being ripped away from him. Unrightfully being taken from his young grasp as his soul burned away in the unholy flames.

He would cry if he had any strength or bodily functions to do so. 

And after what felt like an eternity, a voice unlike any of the others resounded through the screams of the damned.

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

“Come now, Daniel. It's time to get out of your bath. “

A pair of arms reached into the fire and pulled out a bright rounded light. Purest of all others around them. The boy's soul had been shed of its mortal shell but he still felt the aftermath of the fires he had been dipped in. 

Plasmius dropped the toddler’s now ghost-like form, and watched in sick fascination as he rasped and clawed at his own throat, gagging and coughing up fluids his should no longer needed for it was an illusion. His misty form steamed from the heat he was pulled out of and he collapsed from exhaustion of it all. 

However, the witch wasn't about to let it end there. “It’s time, my son. You'll feel much more pain from here on out, you might as well get used to it. “ The man threw his arms out to the sides of the boy and chanted, his eyes glowing a deep red. 

“Correctum denuo renatus gehennae animam iam sanguine tincta colore.” (Reformed anew, a soul dipped in Hell’s fire become blood’s hue.)

The child glowed a bright red for a few moments, pigments slowly returning as his form solidified once more. His hair gained a snow white color, his purity making itself known. His eyes, a once baby blue, opened to be an unearthly toxic green as he glared defiantly at the older man. His skin that was once pale, tanned darkly as if he had been charred. 

He kicked his leg out, hitting the older witch's foot as he began to cry in fear. 

Plasmius glared down at the toddler and swiftly thrusted his leg out and kicked the small child. “Stop crying. You aren't a child anymore. Your mortal form has been destroyed, you should now be an all knowing being. At least, to a certain point. “ The man tapped his chin, not paying attention to the boy as he shakily stood. “Though, since you were formed at such a young age, you'll probably be known to have some ‘child-like’ tendencies…”

Suddenly, he felt a weight wrapped around his legs and looked down to see the toddler glaring up at him. His tiny limbs wrapped around the older witch's legs as he hit him with his small fists. 

“Now, now. Daniel, I am your creator. You will do as I say. You will NOT fight back to me, understand?” The man glared down at the child and pulled him away from his legs roughly. 

The boy whined and clawed at the hands touching him and screamed in frustration. Near ear piercing pitch, making the older growl and slap him. 

“LISTEN TO ME. I AM YOUR MASTER, YOUR CREATOR, I GAVE YOU NEW LIFE AND THEREFORE YOU WILL DO AS I SAY. NOW, STOP FIGHTING ME, BOY.” 

The smaller looked dumbfounded for a minute, staring off frozen in place before he began to whimper and curled in on himself on the scolding stone surface beneath them. 

He couldn't feel the heat anymore. 

He couldn't feel ANYTHING. 

With a sniffle he glared up at the witch, small tears leaking out of his eyes, quickly evaporating when they landed on the floor. 

“You...are NOT the one who made me! I was born from my mother and father, and my image was created from only one all powerful being and he is not YOU. You are NOTHING to me, and that's all you'll ever be!” Daniel was surprised with how easily the new words and pronunciations came to him now, but he didn't let it show as he continued to glare hotly up at the man who had caused his torment.

The toddler felt a sense of dread overcome him as the older witch seethed and picked him up by his starch white hair, making the child yelp and struggle in his hold. “Let- Let me go, you demon!”

Plasmius brought the child up to his face and grounded his teeth together. “You are MINE now! I gave you this life! I own you! ME. NO ONE ELSE. So don't act like what I say isn't true, I am your master. Your entire existence is based solely on what I have done to you. “ 

Daniel spat in the man's face, kicking his leg out to hit Plasmius but only hurting himself in the process. As soon as his foot made contact with the older witch's chest, a pain similar to the fires of the Underworld coarser through his veins, if only just for a moment. But, it was enough for the toddler to cry and thrash in his hold, screaming with his now artificial lungs. 

Plasmius grinned. His fanged teeth showing as he watched the boy writhe. “You see?! You can't hurt me in this form, boy. To you, I am INVINCIBLE. I am your GOD. You can't hurt your Master.”

The pain seemed to die down as Daniel slowly processed what had just happened and he growled at the other witch. “You are NOT my God. There is but one God, holy and true. You will never compare to his greatness!”

The other laughed, nearly outright cackling at the boy's outright show of his faith. “Look at where you are boy! You think your precious GOD still cares for you when you are in the devil’s domain?! You are a monster now. Face the facts, dear boy… God has abandoned you!” 

Daniel seemed to just notice his surroundings and briefly looked at the horrid landscape he found himself in. With a newfound determination, he turned back to Plasmius, his new found knowledge aiding his argument. 

“God abandons no one. There are only those that abandon him. He has a reason for everything and everyone that walks the earth past, present, and future. He has not, and will not abandoned me. So, therefore..” Daniel took a deep breath and glared defiantly up at the older witch, a fire of a different kind than that around them burning in his eyes. “ I won't abandon him. I won't serve a worshiper of the Devil.”

The man shook his head with a cruel smirk, his form twisting to something darker, more lean as Daniel noticed the atmosphere seemed to get more dangerously eerie. 

With a small gulp he looked up at the witch that had him on a silver platter and his eyes widened at the power lustful eyes that bored back into his. The monster of a witch leaned its sharp jaw down to the toddler's ear as its grip tightened on his head. 

“It’s going to be fun to break that spirit of yours, Daniel.”

 

WwwwWWwwwW

Maddie gasped, sitting up quickly from the soft bedspread she’d found herself in. Her body was soaked as were the bedsheets behind her. She panted harshly holding her heart as she glanced around the room. 

She was back in her bedroom so she could only assume it was because of her husband. He must have been so worried about her because of the whole thing with Phantom-

The huntress gasped again, throwing the sheets off of her form and bounding to the bedroom door. She was just about to open it when it was opened from the opposite side, revealing her husband holding a wet rag. 

His eyes widened when he saw his wife standing there with bloodshot eyes. “Maddie! Maddie, what are you doing out of bed, we don't know what that blasted witch could have done to you! He’s under sedation right now, but there’s really no telling when he'll wake.” He fretted, dabbing the rag against his wife's damp forehead. 

“Jack, we have to let Phantom go. “

The man looked surprised from the random statement then quickly shook his head in disapproval. “Mads, no. You're still a bit disoriented from what happened. Phantom attacked you. He's evil, he killed those men and kidnapped all of Amity. Now, I don't know what he did to you, but you have to understand-”

“No, YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND! He's just a baby…. He's just a baby, Jack! He isn't trying to destroy Amity! He's… He's protecting it from the other witch we saw, uh… the Red Devil, him! He's the bad guy, Not Daniel!” The huntress cried before her husband, stomping her foot. “He's probably just confused…”

Jack rubbed at his balding spot and let out a small confused grunt. If Phantom was confused, he certainly wasn't the only one. “Daniel? We were talking about Phantom, not Danny-boy. “

“No, Jack! They're the same! We have to go see him, come on let's go-”

A knock sounded from the front door downstairs making both of the hunters jump. 

Maddie looked timidly up at her husband. “Jack, I thought you said the town was kidnapped?” 

The older nodded wearily and peeked down the stairs at the door. “They were. You don't think it could be the other witch could you?” 

The huntress shook her head and bravely began walking down the stairs, not even caring that she was only in a nightgown. Despite her husband protests she swiftly opened the door.

“Mr. And Mr.s Fenton, is he here? Is he- ohhh….” The two teenagers stilled their frightened shouts when they noticed the woman's attire. 

The darker teen snickered and pulled at his hat, uncomfortable about the whole situation. “Uh… Are we….interrupting something?” 

“Nothing of that sort. “ The huntress sighed, moving out of the way of the door. “Come in, Danny’s in the basement. “ 

Same bounded in, Tucker following closely behind her, both having gobsmacked expressions. 

“What?! Danny is here too??” Sam’s eyes widened at the hunters nods and she let out a sigh of relief as did her companion. “Oh, good. I thought he was taken with the rest of Amity. “

Tucker rubbed at the back of his head with a sigh. “What a great day to visit our town. First day he's here and Phantom and the Red Devil swoop in and kidnap the whole town.”

Sam ignored the comment and looked at the awkward couple standing by the now closed door. “Is Danny okay?” 

“He’s fine. A little roughed up, but fine.” Maddie replied vaguely, choosing to try and avoid the subject of Phantom being Danny for as long as she could. 

The goth began making her way downstairs to the basement when the older woman quickly turned her around nervously. “Uh- wait, wait! How did you two escape?” 

Tucker bit at his thumb from the other side of the room. “We didn't go to the festival. We're not the only ones. I mean….there's not a whole lot of people who didn't, but there's a few.” 

Sam gently brushed the older’s hand off her shoulder and nodded. “Yeah, Phantom didn't think to see if there was anyone else outside of the festival after he kidnapped everyone.”

Maddie shook her head in disappointment. “No, no. Danny didn't do that. That was the Red Devil. “ She tapped her chin, ignoring the teen’s confused looks.

“Uh, what do you mean he didn't do it? And what does Danny have anything to do with that, don't you mean Phantom?” Sam lifted a brow and crossed her arms over her chest.

The huntress sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose and motioned to the basement door. “Follow me.”


	8. Evils New Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang wonder about Phantom' s motives

TP CH.8: Evil's new face

WwwwWWwwwW

 

Phantom groaned when he opened his eyes for the second time that night. He now had no idea what time it was or how much time he had left, but he sat back up feeling for the collar around his neck and finding it still there. 

“Blast it…” The teen said when his fingers brushed up against the smooth surface of the strap.

His ears perked when he heard distinct footsteps coming down the basement stairs and quickly he fell back onto the table, feigning sleep. He silently hoped his near rapid breathing wouldn't be a dead giveaway. Not that the witch really needed to breathe, it was habit mainly.

When the footsteps stopped, Phantom thought he was going to explode from the anxiety that weld up in his chest. He could feel his heart beat unsteadily as he tried to control his breathing.

“I don't see where Danny is -JEEZ MOTHER OF ALL HOLY. Is that PHANTOM?!” The boy, Tucker, the witch recalled from his memory, shouted. 

A slap echoed through the room making Phantom nearly smile in agreement. 

“Tucker, hush and thank you, Sam. Now, I know this may seem a bit odd, seeing as we have a witch restrained inside our house, but, I promise it's all alright.” 

Phantom dared to open one of his eyes halfway to watch the exchange between the humans, his child-like curiosity getting the better over past his better judgement. He saw Maddie, Jack, Sam, and Tucker all standing around him, thankfully not paying attention to him. 

“Mads, we can't trust Phantom not to hurt them. Heck, we can't trust him not to hurt us! I mean, just think about what he did to you mere HOURS ago!” The older man held his arms out towards the other and pleaded with his eyes for her to agree. 

The two teenagers both looked startled from the news and they turned with an agape mouth to peer up at the middle aged woman. 

“What did Phantom do to you??” The goth girl cried, glancing between the hunter and the witch strapped to the table. Thankfully, she didn't catch Phantom shooting his eyes closed. 

Maddie looked conflicted, though Phantom wouldn't dare to open his eyes to see that. On one hand, should she tell them about what the witch once was, or should she try to explain his situation a different way. 

One look down at the restrained teen was enough answer for the huntress. 

“Phantom was a human.” She said softly, still looking down at him. Had she been paying attention, she might have seen how all the color drained from his face at her statement. “He was a human...that was cursed to be a witch.”

Jack shook his head in denial. “Impossible.. Mads, you-”

“No, Jack! He was just a boy! Not even FIVE before Vlad- YOUR COLLEGE BUDDY VLAD- dragged him down to hell and threw him into the flames. The FLAMES, Jack!” She grabbed at her brown hair, disgusted by the look everyone else was giving her. “If only you could have seen what I seen and felt what he'd felt. He was screaming for us, Jack! He felt like we'd abandoned him!” She reached up and blindly grabbed at her husband's shoulders.

“He’s not our son, Maddie! Now stop this!” Jack boomed, patience finally weaning. “Phantom tricked you, showed you false memories! There's no way that he was a human once. Besides, how would he have known us when he was alive anyway?”

Tucker and Sam looked at each other, then at the other two hunters. “Uh .. Are we intruding on anything important? We can leave..” Sam ended up saying, glancing nervously at the door. 

“No, I don't think that will be necessary.”

All eyes turned, wide eyed looking at the raised form of Phantom staring back at them with his darkened eyes. 

He sat up from being on the table, the bindings creaking from his strength until he eventually broke through, glaring at the other people in the room when his chest ached. 

“Phantom! You-”

“No, no, no…” Phantom chided the male hunter before he could start, even going as far as to waddle a finger at him. “I have nothing to say to you right now, Jackson.” 

Jack was furious by the outright disrespect the teen had shown him and nearly popped a blood vessel his face was so red. “Boy, now you listen here-”

Phantom waved his hand in a shushing motion and Jack's lips screwed forcibly shut. He then took the time to break his legs from the bindings they were in and shift so he was actually facing them now.

“I have bigger problems than your pride issues, Jackson.” He looked up at the huntress and a look of regret passed over his face, if only for a brief moment. “What did you see, Madeline?”

Sam seemed more curious than frightened at Phantom's bounds breaking rather than Tucker, who was shaking beside her. “What is he talking about, Mrs. Fenton?”

Maddie looked between everyone in the room, and with a sigh, she quickly retold all that was shown her through Phantom's magic. Though, you’d think that being the one that cast the magic he would know, but that wasn't the case. That or, he simply wasn't aware what he had done by showing her.

There was many times, she noted, that Phantom had either winced or looked down at his hands sitting at his lap. It seemed knowing what exactly he had shown her was enough to silence the snarky young witch. 

Through the telling of Phantom's backstory, Jack seemed sceptical, shaking his head at certain moments while looking uninterested at others, but Maddie knew that wasn't the case. 

“...and then...the last thing I saw was Plasmius crushing his throat with an evil grin. “ The huntress thought best after the events told, to not mention the last words that were spoken by the older witch. 

Sam looked over at the witch in the room, who held his head in his hands, she gave a small glare and stomped over to him. Her combat boots thudded against the lab floor, echoing throughout the room. With a scowl she slapped Phantom across the back of his head as she does Tucker. 

“Listen here! You may be bound to him, but that doesn't mean you can just sit here and mope while he kills our whole town! So, get up and DO something!” Sam pointed her finger at him accusatively, a glare adorning her pretty face-Wait, what?

Phantom looked up at her with an unamused expression. He lifted a brow at the goth’s seemingly determined aura and shrugged, something he'd seen Tucker do a lot in his short time being here. 

But, that only made Sam's determination and anger more noticeable on her features. She poked his chest sharply with her finger and got closer to his face, ignoring the hand attempting to pull her back and also ignored the glare Phantom finally sent her way in irritation. 

“If you have EVER been a good person underneath all that self-loathing crap you call your life, then help us! Help us get our town back!” She growled, her fingers knitting themselves into his cloak. 

That made Phantom's glare lessen a bit, but, it was quickly replaced with a small smirk when he placed a hand on her shoulder and slowly pushed the goth away, though her hand was still knotted in his cloak.

“Unfortunately for you, Samantha-” 

“SAM.” She quickly corrected, through gritted teeth. 

“Sam,” The teen replied with a roll of his eyes, “ I'm not the person I once was...by far. In fact I'm near the opposite.” He leaned back against the lab wall, still getting himself comfortable on top of the steel table. “I've done many terrible things in my second life. Not to mention a few accidental ones in this one” He unwound her fingers from his cloak and gave a cruel smile.

“So get off of me, yes?”

A shiver ran down everyone's spine from the low pitch of the witch's voice. 

Phantom took that opportunity to fully push Sam away from him and growl. 

“-And don't tell me what I should and shouldn't do. If I wanted your town to be damned in hell for the rest of eternity then that's where it would've been the night I was hanged. But, that didn't happen...did it?” 

The goth scowled at his tone before letting out a begrudged “No.”

“Exactly. So, why.. in all sense would I send your town's people into the underworld? Hmm? Certainly not for any gain on my part.” Phantom tapped his chin and suddenly grinned. “But, I can think of someone who would have EVERYTHING to gain. “

Suddenly, the oldest hunter slammed his fist on a nearby lab table and growled. “The Red Devil.” 

Phantom grinned impossibly wider and nodded at the older. “Exactly. It's not me you should be worried about.”

Jack glared and stalked over to the witch, his large form towering over the lanky ‘teen’s own. He held his massive fist up to Phantom's head and shook it menacingly. “Who's to say we don't? You're a witch, an evil creature of hell. What makes you think we'd EVER trust you??”

Phantom scowled and his eyes flashed and electrifying green. “Get. The HELL. Away from me.” With that Jack was pushed back against the wall with an unseen force as the witch got up off of the lab table. “You… You all NEED me. I'm the only one who will even stand a chance against Plasmius. Without me, you're whole town is going to be used as finger food to the demons of hell. Their souls… never reaching salvation because of YOUR incompetence. Now… DO YOU WANT to be responsible for the death of YOUR ENTIRE TOWN, or do you want to be the ones who rescue them?” Phantom’s cape flowed behind him, the green gemstone holding it at his shoulder sliding down to reveal his bruises.

There were varying reactions from the sight of them, the only one not really making one was Jack, who was panting on his hands and knees. 

“Why...Why help us?” The male hunter rasped, rubbing his aching chest. “A demon like you… helping mortals… especially after what you did to people earlier?” Jack let out a noise similar to a laugh and shook his head, ignoring the comforting hand of Maddie, rubbing his back. “I don't believe it for a second.”

Phantom scrunched up his nose and turned to him. “How on Earth do you even know about that, Jackson? You were unconscious. “

Jack grumbled, motioning to Maddie over to his left. “She could see the whole fiasco through the gate. So how are we to believe a word you say when you've never shown us you have ANY of that supposed humanity left in you?” 

“The Spell gem in my book is cracked.” The witch replied as if his answer solved everything. 

The male hunter threw up his hands. “What does your book have anything to do with you killing those men?”

The witch rolled his eyes, getting as annoyed by the conversation as Jackson was. “It was leaking more power into the spell in the air. I had only intended to either knock them out or scare them enough for them to leave me alone… It wasn't intended to have the centipedes...in them.”

“Oh sure! And what of the belltower? You nearly crushed someone AND nearly cut someone's arm off!”

Phantom shrugged. “I don't like loud noises, so i had intended to break the bell, but again my magic is a bit funky at the moment.” 

“-And the man's arm?” Sam had spoken to his right. 

“Just an accident. He was dumb for thinking he could escape so easily.” The white haired man looked off at the man gadgets on the many other steel counters with mild interest. 

“Ohhhh an ACCIDENT??” Jack mock questioned, getting closer to the confusing witch. 

“YES. And ACCIDENT. As I said he should've known better than to try and escape me like that!” Phantom threw out his arms, glaring up at the hunter. 

Said hunter growled and pulled at his hair in frustration. “Do you even HEAR yourself?? You want us to trust you but then you go on and say a person trying to escape a mass murdering psychopath is stupid! Do you know how utterly inhuman you sound?!”

A few gasps came from the other three as they looked between the arguing pair. 

Phantom steeled his expression, feeling claws nip into his hands from his clenched fists. Through gritted teeth he spoke, practically seething. “I'm NOT human.” He stepped closer to Jackson, watching the man take a step back from him in response. “-And If I'm honest, your kind’s definition of the word is finicky. You all say to be a human is to have heart and reach for hope, but what do you do? You burn innocent people at stake under even a glimmer of suspicion they may be a witch. “

“-And what does YOUR kind do then, Phantom? Manage charity events?” Jack started with about as much heat as Arizona in the middle of August. 

The witch once again scrunched up his face in confusion at the suggestion before he glowered, crossing his arms and glaring up at the older man. “We prey on human souls. “

Maddie stepped forward, standing by her husband, eyeing the collar still around Phantom’s neck that had been glowing green the entire conversation. It meant Phantom had meant every word he'd said. “-And how do you feel about that, Danny?” She said softly, watching the boy's eyes widen at the use of his name. 

The goth girl, also curious about this, got closer to the three despite her friend's obvious suggestion for her to stay back a ways with him. “Yeah, what do you think about what you do?”

The witch stepped away from Jack who just stared down at him with a neutral expression and sat himself back up onto the countertop. “ It's what our kind does. We may not deem it as bad, most of us anyway, but to you humans, we are evil. No, we are simply higher up on the food chain. Are humans evil for preying upon their cattle because it is a lesser evolved species? Of course not, because that is the human way.”

Phantom sighed, moving his white hair out of his eyes. “-Just as our way is to reap souls to maintain our bodies. Without them...we eventually shrivel up and die as i nearly did those 400 years ago.” He played with his hands, noting the dirt still caked underneath his nails. 

Maddie placed a hand on her husband's shoulder, rubbing softly as she spoke. “You are referring to the night you drained the town's young, right? Are you saying you were nearly dead? Why wait that long. ..?”

“Maddelin, when you go from being a human boy, to being an all knowing entity, from eating cabbage and the occasional rabbit, to being forced to eat the souls of people you once knew, you tend to hesitate. “ He shook his head, sighing and dropping his hands from his lap to grip the counter harshly. “Despite the warnings from Plasmius about doing so, I starved myself. I simply couldn't bring myself to eat a soul and take away something that was taken wrongfully from me. So years went by, while i should've been at what mortal years went age 20, I appeared like an old man. My skin wrinkled like raisins and my form was weak, but Plasmius had said nothing to me after the third year. The hunger became worse and worse until I started losing myself. “

He peeked up at the female hunter, as if he was only speaking to her in the basement room and tilting his head. “I was angry, and absurdly hungry. I watched my family grieve for my death, not knowing I was staying in the very woods by them, watching. And I had watched as...my parents had another child, a younger sister named Jazmine. “ The witch gave a small smile, appearing foreign on the young face. “She was lovely, long red curls, beautiful turquoise eyes. She was the sweetest girl in the village and my parent's loved her so, as did I. “ His eyes grew a far away look to them, making Maddie cling a bit to her husband, remembering the last time that had happened. 

The male hunter gruffed, not looking at the younger male. “If you loved her so much why did you kill her? Why not feed from someone else…”

The witch was quiet for a moment, making the other's wonder if they needed to repeat the question, the green light of the collar glowed, reminding them that all that Phantom had said up to that point had been entirely true. 

The electric green eyes twitched. “I was angry. A part of me loved her unconditionally as her older brother, but another… another part of me was furious. Furious that my parents had moved on and seemingly forgotten about me, and I unrightfully began to take out that childish hatred out on my sister. I would plague their home with rodents and pests, destroy their crops, and one day I..” 

Phantom went silent. 

“-One day I grew so spiteful I had cursed my own mother. “ His eyes flicked up to Maddie’s for a split second before looking away once more. “I cursed her and her future reincarnations with infertility.”

The husband and wife both looked at the witch now, eyes wide and a bit horrified. Although Jack was having a hard time trying to piece together everything he had learned that night, he was still against having anything to do with the witch as his “father.” But hearing the last part caused those thoughts to pause as new ones rushed their way in. 

Phantom made them infertile? 

“The curse was made to punish them, so long as i, their first child, suffered, so will they, with no more children to help fill that gap.” Phantom looked to the both of them. 

Sam stood a few feet away from the boy, looking from him to the shocked hunters. “So...was this what finally made you snap?”

With a nod, the light haired boy picked at the collar around his neck, wincing at the throb from his eternal bruises. “Yes, essentially. I lost myself to the anger and was consumed and that night, I had lured all the children into the woods with a simple enchantment spell. But, I was so hungry to think, and afterwards I was too drunk on power to care for my actions. I had went insane and it took a 400 year sleep for that madness to leave me and even then, when i had first awoken I could feel the looming threat like a vice around my neck. “

“It wasn't until the earlier at the belltower, with those men and the appearance of Plasmius that I truly realised what I was doing. “

Maddie watched the younger close up and rubbed her husband's shoulders, resisting the urge to comfort the boy. She tried to keep her thoughts away from that scene that had happened earlier. 

Though the comfort of his wife calmed him some, Jack couldn't help but notice that her attention wasn't on him rather on the bruises circling Phantom’s neck. Those definitely were a constant reminder of exactly who they were dealing with, regardless of what Phantom had been saying. 

“Why help us..if we're the ones who killed you…?” 

Everyone turned and looked surprised at Tucker, who finally spoke after a long silence, saying what everyone had most likely been thinking. 

Phantom sighed, looking down submissively at his feet. “It’s hard to say. As you know i was human once, though young when I was turned, I remember due to my all knowing nature. I remember enjoying the simple things, the winds blowing at my hair, the look and feel of snow falling, and beauty of the stars at night, and yet now as I am I can enjoy none of it. The only joy I feel, comes from the pain of others and it sickens me.”

With this, the white haired teen looked back up at the other people in the room, his usual attentive eyes soft and sad. 

Phantom grit his teeth and his eyes shut tightly. “I don't want to die a monster. NOT again. “ The witch shook his head and opened them again, calming down considerably. “Please. I ask you, I BEG of you… Help me get the townspeople back. He'll kill them all if we don't. “

Phantom then turned and took a long silent stare at the male hunter when he finally sat back up. “...and when it's all over…”

The witch sighed, closing his eyes again for a second. 

“When it’s all over you can kill me. If...If I'm not already dead, of course. I'll die at dawn unless I consume a soul.”

Jack stared at the teen for a bit, taking in his expression, and searching for any hostility or dishonesty. When finding none, he let out a sigh of his own and stood up sticking out one of his large hands to the teen. 

The witch looked at the hand with furrowed brows before going to shake it. He was stopped before he could and Jack held his hand in his own and squeezed it. Phantom looked up at the other with a confused glared, wondering what the point of this was.

When he met the hunter’s gaze, he couldn't look away. The man pulled Phantom closer to him by his hand and glared. “Don't shake...unless you mean it.”

The witch blinked at him, startled by his statement then gave the most serious expression he could match, hoping to go up against Jack's own and shook his hand.

Jack finally gave a characteristic grin and shook his hand himself, laughing when he saw Phantom jump from the force and brace himself on Jack's forearm. 

Everyone in the room let out a relieved sigh from the tense cloud lifting. 

Phantom gave the smallest smile before using his strength to pull away.

Jack's laughter boomed throughout the room. “To think such a small teen has been causing all these problems. You need more meat on your bones, boy.”

Said boy shook his head and frowned. “You wouldn't like what I would need to do to get it.”

Jack merely slapped a hand on the boy's back and patted it.”Well..What do we do? You're our best shot at getting everyone back after all.”

Sam finally stepped back in..”Yeah...how do we go and save the town?”

Tucker fiddled with his hands and adjusted his glasses. “Yeah, isn't hell...like only accessible if we die?” The goth socked him in the back of the head for the statement. “Ow! Jeez, Sam.”

The goth threw her hands out and made a face that clearly said, “Why would you ask such a stupid question.” 

Maddie gave a fond smile before looking over at Phantom- Danny and her husband standing shoulder to shoulder. “Danny...How do we stop Vlad..?”

Jack furrowed his brows and pouted. “Vladdy? What do you mean, Mads?”

Phantom grunted and pulled away from the hunter and looked at him, placing a hand on the man's broad shoulder.”Vlad Masters is Plasmius...Er… The Red Devil.”

The man looked horrified knowing his friend since college was actually a witch that had been terrorizing their town for centuries. He shook his head. “No. NO NO NO. Vlad can't be the Red Devil! He's been aging!” 

Phantom almost looked sad seeing how upset the man was before removing his hand and clear in his throat to gain his attention again. “Our bodies are only an illusion. We can change it how we like to blend with the world around us. It's what Vlad has been doing since day one.”

Maddie walked over and hugged her husband's side. “Jack...I'm sorry.”

With that, the male hunter sniffed and nodded his head, calming instantly, though whether for good they didn't know. But, he looked back over at Phantom with a more determined expression than before.

“So, how do we get to them? I've got a few things I need to speak to VLADDY about.”

The witch felt a smirk stretch across his face. His green eyes twinkled when he looked from person to person. “First...we need a plan.”

 

WwwWWWwwW

Sorry it took forever. Work, now college.

Two more chapters left then an epilogue

Til next time! -ShadTastic


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